Russia’s military launched drone attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv overnight, injuring at least 17 people. Kharkiv’s mayor said the attacks were aimed at terrorizing Ukraine’s civilian population into submission.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov: “This is our enemy’s new tactic to frighten the civilians. This is civilian infrastructure of the city. These are production enterprises. These are Kharkiv’s businesspeople. Of course they are scared. Also, when people go to sleep in the night, when children go to sleep and they encounter such strong strikes, the goal is to frighten the people.”

Ukrainian officials say they’re sending negotiators to Washington, D.C., next week for talks on a mineral deal that would see the U.S. continue sending weapons in exchange for U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources.