The Kremlin has denied a report in the Western media that Moscow and Kyiv have been engaged in secret negotiations to curb strikes on each other's energy infrastructure as casualties caused by Russian attacks continued to pile up in Ukraine on October 30.
The Financial Times on October 29 reported, citing senior Ukrainian sources, that Kyiv wanted to resume Qatar-mediated talks on the issue, which had been interrupted in August by Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
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Ukraine has not commented on the report, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on October 30 dismissed the report as "fake," saying there were rumors circulating "that had nothing to do with reality" and adding, "Even the most respected outlets do not hesitate to publish such fabrications."
Since the fall of 2022, Russia has been systematically attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, resulting in huge damages, energy shortages, and overall misery to Ukrainian civilians, especially during the winter season.
Over the past several months, Ukraine, in turn, has started hitting Russian energy hubs with its own drones, mainly oil refineries and fuel depots that supply the Russian military engaged in the invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russian strikes had taken out over half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, adding that the bloc is working to help restore it.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to target civilians in Ukraine, killing three people and wounding 15 more in strikes on the southern Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, the region's governor, said.
In Kyiv, nine people were wounded during a Russian drone attack early on October 30, the city's military administration reported on Telegram.
The attack targeted the city's Solomyankiy district, authorities said.
"A fire broke out in several apartments in a multistory residential building. 18 people were evacuated from the building; 9 people were wounded, including one child," the message said.
Ukrainian air-defense systems shot down 33 of 62 drones launched by Russia on 10 Ukrainian regions -- Kyiv, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskiy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Poltava, Ukraine's Air Force reported.