At least 15 injured in Russian attack targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine

The latest bombardment in Russia’s escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a Sept. 2 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it doesn’t. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war, many of them along the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, and Russian barrages of cities have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the United Nations says. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Tuesday that “Putin holds a theory of victory that posits that Russia can achieve its war aims by continuing to make creeping gains on the battlefield indefinitely and outlasting Western support for Ukraine and Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.”