Ukraine shoots down 20 Russian drones as top US, British diplomats travel to Kyiv

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it shot down 20 of 25 drones that Russian forces used in overnight attacks targeting multiple Ukrainian regions.
The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Poltava, and Sumy regions, Ukraine’s air force said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.
Russia’s defense ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region.
Officials in Belgorod also reported a freight train derailment that happened after “the intervention of non-authorized people.”
The local office of Russia’s national rail operator said in a statement that 11 empty carriages and a locomotive derailed.
The latest fighting came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy traveled Wednesday to Ukraine for talks with senior officials.
“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine in the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression,” Blinken said Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden indicated Tuesday that the United States may be moving to lift its restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons in its war with Russia.
The U.S. steadfastly has been unwilling to supply or sanction Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons that could strike deep into Russia, for fear of escalating the conflict.
Some of Ukraine’s allies have supplied Kyiv with such weapons, but the countries supplying the weapons have imposed restrictions on how and when the weapons can be used.
In response to a question Tuesday about whether the U.S. would lift restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons against Russia, Biden said his administration is “working that out now.”
Earlier Tuesday, Blinken also indicated in an interview with Sky News that there could be a U.S. shift in its stance on allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles in Russia.
“We never rule out. But when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve,” Blinken said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Tuesday that Ukraine’s “absolute priority is just peace, and every missile, every drone, and all hostile moves, every attempt to make this war longer and more brutal will inevitably be met with a response from the world.”
He said Ukraine “will ensure the necessary unity of the world – no matter how difficult it is.”
Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.