Peace talks collapse again

[Anchor]

After the third peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine ended without results, clashes between the two sides are intensifying again.

As fierce exchanges continue, casualties are rising once more.

This is Song Young-seok reporting from Berlin.

[Report]

A massive cloud of smoke and flames engulfed a residential area in broad daylight.

The area is in chaos due to precision-guided bombs fired by the Russian military.

[Tetiana Manko/Resident near the bombing site: "I am still trembling. I can't stop shaking. It was really scary."]

Ukrainian authorities stated that this could be the first attack using the new UMPB-5 bomb by Russia.

This guided bomb, launched from strategic bombers, has much greater destructive power than drones.

Following the collapse of the ceasefire negotiations, Russia's fierce attacks have primarily targeted areas near the border, such as Kharkiv, where President Putin recently declared the establishment of a buffer zone.

[Volodymyr Zelensky/Ukrainian President: "(I have seen) Russia's response to our 'complete ceasefire' proposal. It is the same response they always give. More than 40 people were injured in the Kharkiv airstrike."]

Ukraine also struck military facilities in Russia's southwestern Sochi, resulting in the deaths of two civilians in the process.

[Maria Zakharova/Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: "(Ukraine's attack) is not an attack on soldiers or military equipment. It is a terrorist attack targeting civilians."]

The peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have become a platform for justifying the continuation of the war rather than discussing a ceasefire.

Casualties are still occurring on the front lines today.

This is Song Young-seok from KBS News in Berlin.