A UKRAINIAN drone strike ignited fires at one of Russia’s Black Sea ports ahead of fresh talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old war.

Two people were wounded in Sunday’s attack on the port of Taman in the Krasnodar region, where an oil storage tank, warehouse and terminals were damaged, according to regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.

Meanwhile, falling debris from Russian drones damaged civilian and transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odessa region, officials said, causing disruption to the power and water supply.

Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. 

The attacks came ahead of another round of US-brokered talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva today and tomorrow, just before the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s “special military operation” next Tuesday.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that there were still questions over future security guarantees for his country. 

Mr Zelensky also questioned how the concept of a free trade zone — proposed by the US — would work in the Donbass region, which Russia insists Kiev must give up in return for peace.

He said the US wants peace as quickly as possible and also wants all the agreements on Ukraine signed at the same time, whereas Kiev wants guarantees for the country’s future security signed first.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told the conference on Sunday that key Russian demands, including the lifting of sanctions and unfreezing of assets, were decisions for Europe to make.

“If we want a sustainable peace, then we need concessions also from the Russian side,” she said.

Previous US-led efforts to find consensus on ending the conflict have failed to resolve issues such as the future of Ukraine’s Donbass industrial heartland, which is largely occupied by Russian forces.