Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova overnight, killing two people and injuring three others, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper. In a separate attack, a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian Black Sea city of Novorossiysk killed four people, including a child, and injured 29. The exchange of strikes comes despite renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, with US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv reportedly being pushed for this month.

The border crossing attack, around 500km south of Kyiv, also injured a Moldovan driver, and Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said 17 drones had struck Moldovan territory in August alone, more than in the whole of the previous year. Russia's defence ministry said it shot down 596 Ukrainian drones overnight, while damage in Novorossiysk hit homes, a church and a preschool. The strikes followed a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, and visits by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv, though the Kremlin says it is too early to set a date or venue for direct talks.