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Russian Drones Hammer Ukraine’s Odesa as Czech Leader Visits 

Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
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Russian Drones Hammer Ukraine’s Odesa as Czech Leader Visits 

Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)

Russia pounded Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa with one of its biggest drone attacks late on Thursday, injuring three teenagers and sparking fires as the Czech president visited, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack comes as the United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hoping to agree a partial ceasefire that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure by both sides.

Czech President Petr Pavel, a vocal backer of Kyiv who has led an effort to source more than one million artillery shells for Ukraine's war effort, was in the port city for talks with regional officials at the time of the strikes.

"Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region," Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

The long-range drones buzzed into the city in several waves, damaging infrastructure, residential houses and commercial buildings, and causing multiple fires, the interior ministry said.

Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst, told Reuters that Russia used new tactics for the attack, having its drones descend from a higher altitude than usual and at high speeds to make it harder for Ukraine's air defenses.

He said it was one of the "most massive" attacks on Odesa since Russia invaded in February 2022: "It was intimidation. Terror against the civilian population."

Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed during separate talks with US officials that they are ready for a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure. Moscow rejected a more comprehensive 30-day ceasefire.

Ukrainian, US and Russian delegations are due to meet in Saudi Arabia separately on Monday to discuss the details, officials have said.

Russia launched a total of 214 drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said. It did not specify how many drones targeted Odesa specifically.

The air force said it shot down 114 of the drones and that another 81 drones were "lost", its term for those suppressed using electronic warfare defenses.

Ukraine has used drones to continue striking targets in Russia, hitting oil infrastructure and a strategic bomber base in recent days.

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Congo M23 Rebels Say They Will Withdraw from Seized Town to Support Peace Push

Abandoned military helmets that belonged to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are seen at Goma airport after the town was seized by the M23 rebels, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
Abandoned military helmets that belonged to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are seen at Goma airport after the town was seized by the M23 rebels, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Congo M23 Rebels Say They Will Withdraw from Seized Town to Support Peace Push

Abandoned military helmets that belonged to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are seen at Goma airport after the town was seized by the M23 rebels, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
Abandoned military helmets that belonged to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are seen at Goma airport after the town was seized by the M23 rebels, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels staging an offensive in east Congo said on Saturday they would withdraw forces from the seized town of Walikale in support of peace efforts, having previously said they were leaving troops there as they pushed on to the capital.

The government said it hoped the move would be translated into concrete action, after M23 this week pulled out of planned talks with Congolese authorities at the last minute due to EU sanctions on some of its leaders and Rwandan officials.

It would have been their first direct engagement with Congo's government after President Felix Tshisekedi reversed his longstanding refusal to speak to the rebels.

The Congo River Alliance, which includes M23, said in a statement on Saturday that it had "decided to reposition its forces" from Walikale and surrounding areas that M23 took control of this week.

This decision was in line with a ceasefire declared in February and in support of peace initiatives, it said in a statement that was greeted with skepticism by army officers.

A senior member of the alliance who did not wish to be named said repositioning meant withdrawing to "give peace a chance". The source declined to say where M23 rebels would withdraw to.

"We are asking for Walikale and surroundings to remain demilitarized," the source said. "If the FARDC (Congo's army) and their allies come back, this means they want to relaunch hostilities."

Foreign Affairs Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told reporters: "We are going to see whether M23 will withdraw from Walikale and whether M23 will give priority to dialogue and peace ... So we hope that this will be translated into concrete action."

PEACE EFFORTS

Congo's army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An army officer said he was skeptical about the announced withdrawal. Another officer said M23 was advancing towards Mubi, another town in the area, after the army and pro-government militia bombed Walikale's airport and cut off some of M23's road access.

"They now have a provision problem," said the second officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They will not withdraw. They will move in front of (Walikale) and behind it."

A M23 officer told Walikale residents on Thursday they were leaving a small group of soldiers there to provide security, while other soldiers "continue all the way to Kinshasa".

Walikale is the furthest west the rebels have reached in an unprecedented advance that has already overrun eastern Congo's two largest cities since January.

Its capture put the rebels within 400 km (250 miles) of Kisangani, the country's fourth-biggest city with a bustling port at the Congo River's farthest navigable point upstream of the capital Kinshasa, some 1,500 km (930 miles) away.

There have been several attempts to resolve the spiraling conflict, rooted in the fallout from Rwanda's 1994 genocide and competition for mineral riches, including several ceasefires that were violated and regional summits to open up dialogue.

Congo, the United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has been providing arms and troops to the ethnic Tutsi-led M23. Rwanda denies this, saying its military has been acting in self-defense against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the genocide.

The M23 alliance leader Corneille Naanga on Friday dismissed a joint call for an immediate ceasefire by Congo and Rwanda and reiterated demands for direct talks with Kinshasa, saying it was the only way to resolve the conflict.