Kremlin, embarrassed by audacious attack on its nuclear-capable bombers, launched 472 drones on Ukraine overnight, Kyiv says
Russia and Ukraine exchanged deadly drone and rocket attacks overnight despite representatives from both nations sitting down for peace talks.
Moscow’s forces launched shelling and air attacks that killed five people outside the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, while a drone attack on the north-eastern region of Sumy injured at least six early on Monday, including two children, regional officials said.
Ukraine, meanwhile, continued its drone onslaught with attacks on Russia’s Kursk and Voronezh regions, sparking fires on a major highway, regional officials said.
The previous day, Russia suffered one of its most devastating setbacks in its war with Ukraine so far. Explosive-laden drones, which had been loaded into trucks and driven by Ukraine’s security service to the perimeter of four air bases across Russia, were released and struck 41 of Russia’s most crucial warplanes.
It was the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war. At least 13 aircraft – some of which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons – were destroyed, while others will need extensive repair. Kyiv estimated the damage caused by the assaults at $7bn (£5.2bn).
The assault and Russia’s response provided a charged backdrop for peace talks, which began in the early afternoon local time in Istanbul.
Previous talks two weeks ago led to a mass prisoner exchange, but fell far short of their aim of securing a ceasefire, or a path to lasting peace.
Attacks exchanged
Moscow said its air defences destroyed a total of 162 Ukrainian drones overnight, downing 57 over the Kursk region that borders Ukraine.
Falling debris from destroyed drones sparked fires at several houses and damaged private apartments, the acting governor of Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, said in an update on Telegram.
he aftermath of a Russian attack on Kherson, southern Ukraine (Photo: Kherson Regional Military Administration/Anadolu)
In the southern Russian region of Voronezh, air units were reported to have destroyed 16 Ukrainian drones, but debris cut through power lines, which fell on the M-4, a major motorway.
Part of the road, which links the cities of Moscow, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, was closed, the local governor said.
There were no injuries reported.
Russia also fired deep into Ukrainian territory, launching 472 drones, the highest nightly total of the war.
Ivan Fedorov, governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, said three women were killed by Russian shelling targeting the village of Ternuvate.
In a nearby district, a man also died in a Russian strike by a guided aerial bomb, Fedorov said. A total of nine people were injured in the Russian air assaults.
Two children were among those hurt in a Russian drone attack on Sumy region, governor Oleh Sinehubov said. “A 7-year-old boy is among the victims,” he wrote on Telegram, adding that several buildings were damaged.
Peace talks begin again
Russian and Ukrainian officials arrived in Istanbul on Monday for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022. There was no initial sign that the sides were close to a peace agreement.
The two delegations were expected to discuss their ideas for what a full ceasefire would look like and the longer-term path to peace.
Moscow and Kyiv are facing increased pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has warned that Washington could abandon its role as a mediator if there is no progress soon.
Talks are taking place at Çırağan Palace by the Bosphorus. Turkish officials were due to mediate and sit in on the discussion.
Tthe last round of talks in Istanbul on 16 May resulted in the biggest prisoner swap of the war. Each side released 1,000 prisoners, but could not agree on any more substantive moves towards peace.
Moscow, which advanced on the battlefield in May at its fastest rate in six months, says Ukraine should submit to peace on Russian terms or face losing more territory.
The mood in Russia before the talks was angry, with influential war bloggers calling on Moscow to deliver a fearsome retaliatory blow against Kyiv’s drone assault.
However, there was minimal coverage of it in Russian media, who mostly focused on the Istanbul talks.
Russia’s media has been almost entirely state-controlled orinfluenced since the outbreak of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Independent newspapers have been shut down by Roskomnadzor, the Russian agency responsible for mass media.
This has been a key component of efforts by the government of Vladimir Putin to regulate and control information.