KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched the largest drone assault on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, just hours after the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in years collapsed without producing a ceasefire.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia deployed 273 exploding drones and decoys overnight, targeting multiple regions including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk. Of those, 88 were shot down, and an additional 128 drones were likely neutralized by electronic jamming systems. The scale and intensity of the attack surpassed all previous Russian drone offensives.
“This was the largest drone attack since the beginning of the war,” said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, in a statement to The Associated Press. The previous record occurred in February 2024, when 267 drones were launched ahead of the invasion’s third anniversary.
Local officials said a 28-year-old woman was killed during the assault on the Kyiv region, and three others — including a 4-year-old child — were injured.
The massive overnight attack followed unsuccessful negotiations in Istanbul, where Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for direct talks for the first time in years. The session, which lasted less than two hours on Friday, failed to yield a ceasefire, despite backing from Ukraine’s Western allies, including the United States.
Ukraine had proposed a 30-day ceasefire, backed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea, declining Zelenskyy’s offer for face-to-face negotiations. Instead, Putin had suggested lower-level direct talks, which Ukrainian officials said fell short of what was needed to advance peace.
Despite the breakdown, both sides agreed in principle to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, who said the swap could occur as early as next week.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to speak with Putin on Monday, followed by calls with Zelenskyy and various NATO leaders, in what he described as a renewed effort to broker an end to the war.
“I will speak with both sides and our allies to work toward peace,” Trump said in a brief statement, adding that a coordinated diplomatic push was necessary to prevent further escalation.
In response to Ukraine’s growing drone capabilities, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses intercepted seven Ukrainian drones overnight, and a further 18 on Sunday morning, though these claims could not be independently verified.
The escalating drone warfare highlights the ongoing technological arms race within the broader conflict, as both nations rely increasingly on unmanned aerial systems to strike deep behind enemy lines.
As tensions rise and diplomatic avenues narrow, the deadly weekend drone barrage marks a stark reminder of the war’s enduring volatility, even amid renewed — albeit fragile — attempts at dialogue.
