Russia Conducts Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine Since War’s Onset, Resulting in at Least One Fatality

KYIV – Russia overnight launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine’s air force reported on Sunday that Russia launched 273 drones and decoys, of which 88 were intercepted and 128 likely disrupted through electronic jamming. These attacks were aimed at the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions.

According to Yuriy Ihnat, who leads the Communications Department for the Ukrainian Air Force, this was the most significant drone assault since the full-scale invasion commenced, as reported to The Associated Press.

Russia’s previous largest known single drone attack was on the eve of the war’s third anniversary, when Russia pounded Ukraine with 267 drones.

Mykola Kalashnyk, the Governor of the Kyiv region, reported that a 28-year-old woman lost her life in the drone attack, while three other individuals, including a 4-year-old child, sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones overnight, and a further 18 on Sunday morning.

The attacks came after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years on Friday failed to yield a ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations — although not at the presidential level — as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Putin, and will then speak to Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine.