MOSCOW/KIEV, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian forces said Thursday they had breached sections of the first Ukrainian defensive line near the strategic cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, while overnight missile and drone strikes hit Kiev and several other Ukrainian regions.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said Russian troops were carrying out military tasks "at an unrelenting pace" across all fronts.
Troops of Russia's South group are advancing along a front stretching about 160 km on several axes, Gerasimov said, adding that Russian forces had breached the first Ukrainian defensive line of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk fortified area in several sectors.
Meanwhile, Russian forces overnight launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kiev and nine other Ukrainian regions, targeting critical infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Thursday.
Five people were injured in the cities of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia in the south, he said, adding that enterprises in the Kiev region were also targeted.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said that Ukrainian and Russian delegations may meet next month for talks on ending the conflict, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday.
Though the negotiation track is currently on pause, there are plans to revive it, Budanov told reporters, adding that the U.S. delegation is also likely to take part in the possible talks.
Delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia previously held two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23-24 and Feb. 4-5, followed by another round in Geneva on Feb. 17-18. The negotiations have been suspended since then. ■
