Blood bank, university damaged in air raids as Russia, Ukraine intensify attacks

Attacks occurred late on Saturday, while senior government representatives from 40 countries, including China, India, and the United States, were in Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

The two-day meeting is not expected to result in a final declaration.

While Moscow-installed officials charged Kyiv with using cluster munitions to destroy a university in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials put the responsibility on Russia for the attack on the blood centre in the eastern town of Kupiansk late on Saturday, as per Al Jazeera.

The attack on Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region was referred to as a "war crime" by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also stated that "there are dead and wounded."

He didn't specify how many people were murdered or hurt.

He added that the attack was carried out by Russian forces using a "guided aerial bomb" and that firefighters were putting out a fire at the location.

“This war crime says everything about Russian aggression,” he added.

A university building in the vicinity was on fire as a result of Ukrainian bombardment, according to the governor of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, who was installed by Moscow hours after Zelenskyy's report, according to Al Jazeera.

He claimed that according to early information, the contentious cluster munitions were to blame for the fire.

After a Russian ship in the Black Sea was damaged by Ukrainian forces, Moscow's forces targeted a Ukrainian aeronautics complex earlier in the day.

The manufacturer of plane and helicopter engines as well as other components, Motor Sich, owned the aeronautics complex. The site is situated about 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Kiev, in western Ukraine, close to the city of Khmelnytskyi.

According to Moscow officials, the damaged Russian tanker was a "civilian" ship. They condemned Kyiv's "terrorist attack" and pledged retaliation.

The incident temporarily stopped ferry service as well as traffic on the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, reported Al Jazeera.

This raid was one of two within a day.

Earlier on Friday, Ukraine attacked the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

Without Russia's involvement, a two-day summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to find a peaceful resolution to the war began, though the Kremlin has stated it will monitor the negotiations.

The meeting is a part of Ukraine's diplomatic effort to win over countries in the Global South who have been reluctant to endorse one side in a conflict that has hurt the world economy.

Zelenskyy said it would be crucial to undertake bilateral conversations outside of the Jeddah meeting in order to reach consensus on the fundamentals for a summit of world leaders he plans to convene on the subject later in the year.

Speaking on Saturday, he admitted that there were differences between the participating nations but insisted that the rule-based system of international law needed to be reinstated.

“It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula,” he said, as per Al Jazeera.

“I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations.”

India sent National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and China, which did not participate in the previous round of negotiations in Copenhagen sent Li Hui, Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs.

Sydney Mufamadi, President Cyril Ramaphosa's security advisor, represented South Africa among the other BRICS nations, which also includes Russia, China, and India. Celso Amorim, Brazil's top foreign policy advisor, also joined via video link, Al Jazeeera reported.