Russian drones pound civilian areas as Ukraine claims battlefield breakthroughs

KYIV, Ukraine -- Russia’s round-the-clock bombardment of targets in Ukraine killed at least three civilians and wounded 41 others, officials said Monday, while Ukraine’s army claimed more successes in a recent push on the front line.The attacks followed a week of diplomatic efforts at the United Nations to get traction for negotiations on ending Moscow’s invasion that began 4½ years ago.Battlefield positions have changed little since last year, in part because swarms of drones severely restrict troop movements, but Kyiv’s forces launched a recent offensive, codenamed Operation Vivaldi, on part of the 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line. Ukraine’s Third Army Corps said Monday it had recaptured another 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) from the Russians, bringing the total to 176 square kilometers (68 square miles) since the offensive began several months ago.The corps said that in order to break through Russian defenses, it converted Soviet-era BTR-60 armored personnel carriers into kamikaze vehicles that blew up the strongest Russian fortifications. The operation has also used ground robots to attack Russian positions.The claimed breakthroughs came in the Donetsk region of e...