Russia confirmed that it would send a delegation to Istanbul, but Kiev has not yet accepted the proposal.
According to Ukraine, Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least two people as they ordered the evacuation of 11 more villages in the Smie area, adjacent to Russia.
Russian forces fired an estimated 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine on Friday and overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday, adding that three missiles and 42 drones were destroyed, and 30 more drones were unable to reach the target without causing damage.
The attack came amid uncertainty about whether Kiev would take part in the new round of peace talks in Istanbul early next week.
A child was killed and another injured in a strike in the frontline village of Drinka in the Zaporidia region in the Russian attack on Saturday, Zaporidia Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
“One house was destroyed. The shock wave from the explosion damaged several other homes, cars and outdoors,” Fedorov wrote in Telegram.
Governor Oleksandr Prokdin wrote in Telegram, Governor Oleksandr Prokdin was killed by Russian artillery fire in the Herson area of Ukraine.
Moscow did not comment on either attack.
Meanwhile, authorities in the Smie region of Ukraine said they have evacuated 11 villages within a range of about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border.
“The decision was made in view of the constant threat to civilian lives as a result of artillery fire in border communities,” the local administration said on social media.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelenki said about 50,000 Russian troops were gathered in the area with the intention of launching an attack to open up buffer zones within Ukrainian territory.
Oleksandr Silsky, the top Ukrainian army chief, said on Saturday that Russian forces were focusing their main offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Torret and Leiman in the Donetsk region.
Silsky added that Ukrainian forces still hold territory in Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow has repeatedly denied it.
Evacuation and attacks came two days before the possibility of a meeting between Kiev and Moscow in Istanbul, just as Washington called on both countries to end the three-year war.
Russia has confirmed that it will send a delegation, but Kiev has not yet accepted the proposal and warns that consultations will not bring about any consequences unless the Kremlin provides peace conditions in advance.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday what Moscow is planning to achieve at the meeting and it is not yet clear so far that it will “seem very serious.”
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