It is day 567 of the war in Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met to hold talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East.

A barrage of 30 Iranian kamikaze drones struck the Odesa region of Ukraine overnight, damaging seaport infrastructure and injuring several people.

Two ships were damaged and 24 people were injured in a Ukrainian cruise missile attack on the Sevastopol shipyard in Russia-annexed Crimea.

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin meet to hold talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met for talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East where a potential arms sale by Pyongyang to Moscow is expected to top the agenda.

Putin travelled to the cosmodrome from Vladivostok, where he took part in the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday, TASS reported. The North Korean leader travelled to the remote cosmodrome on his personal armoured train. The two leaders spoke briefly upon their arrival ahead of formal talks.

The two leaders are expected to tour the facilities of the cosmodrome before sitting down to talks, Interfax reported on Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on Tuesday that Putin and Kim would discuss the regional and global political situation, as well as UN sanctions on North Korea.

Injuries reported as drones attack ports in Ukraine’s Odesa region

Several people were injured and seaport infrastructure was damaged in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region using Shahed kamikaze drones, local governor Oleh Kiper reported on Wednesday.

“Several groups of combat drones were directed against the Izmail district of our region. Seaport facilities, as well as other civilian infrastructure, were damaged in the attack,” Kiper said.

Six civilians were reportedly hospitalised after sustaining injuries in the strike; three of them are in a critical condition.

Regional air defence reported shooting down 32 Iranian-made Shahed drones over a four-and-a-half-hour period, adding that: “Unfortunately, non-residential buildings were destroyed, and the local lorry park caught fire.”

Russian Defence Ministry says two ships damaged as Ukraine launches cruise missile strike on Sevastopol shipyard

The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched 10 cruise missiles at the Sevastopol shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea and attacked a detachment of Russian ships offshore with three drones, the Russian Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday.

Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, reported that 24 people had been injured.

Two vessels were damaged in the shipyard attack, the Russian Defence Ministry said, adding that Crimea’s air defences had shot down seven cruise missiles, and that an escort patrol ship had destroyed all three drones.

Local residents reported hearing a loud explosion in Sevastopol at around 3 AM on Wednesday morning, with reports of residents at several student dormitories being instructed to take refuge in bomb shelters.