Ukraine-Russia latest: Kyiv launches major Crimea drone attack as Zelensky’s foreign minister arrives in China

Ukraine has launched a major aerial attack on Putin’s forces for the second night in a row, targeting occupied Crimea in an overnight assault that local officials said involved at least 21 drones.

A day earlier Kyiv launched as many as 75 drones towards several Russian regions, with the attack triggering a fire at an oil refinery in the Russian town of Tuapse. Russia claimed the fire was caused by debris from a downed drone, though this could not be verified.

Monday night’s assault on the Crimean port of Sevastopol came as Volodymyr Zelensky ’s foreign minister began a rare four-day visit to China, during which he will meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Dmytro Kuleba’s task will be to put Ukraine’s case to Russia’s most important ally. He said he would be discussing “the restoration of peace, deepening our bilateral dialogue, expanding trade and economic cooperation” during the visit.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has announced a deal with creditors to restructure about $20bn of debt, bolstering Kyiv’s efforts to leverage private capital in financing its war against Russia.