Russia has launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, deploying 273 drones across multiple regions early Sunday morning. The assault came just one day before a scheduled call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is expected to focus on a proposed 30-day ceasefire.
Attack Details
- Ukraine’s air force reported the interception of 88 drones, while 128 others “went astray without negative consequences.”
- The central Kyiv region, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk were targeted.
- In the Obukhiv district near Kyiv, a woman was killed and at least three injured, including a four-year-old child.
- This surpasses the previous largest attack on 23 February, when 267 drones were launched.
Russia’s military claimed it intercepted 25 Ukrainian drones overnight in return strikes.
Diplomatic Tensions and Ceasefire Prospects
Friday marked the first face-to-face meeting between Russia and Ukraine in over three years, held in Turkey, resulting in a prisoner swap deal but little progress on ending hostilities. President Trump has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, with backing from the UK, France, Germany, and Poland, all of whose leaders plan to meet virtually with him before his call with Putin.
- Trump warned of tougher sanctions if Russia does not accept the ceasefire proposal.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to the ceasefire “immediately and unconditionally.”
- Putin, however, insists a pause is contingent on a halt to Western military aid and broader negotiations on:
- Ukrainian neutrality
- Reducing the Ukrainian military
- Abandoning NATO ambitions
Ukraine has rejected these conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Nuclear Tensions and Strategic Maneuvers
Ukraine’s intelligence agency claims Russia may be planning a “training and combat” launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly as a form of nuclear intimidation. Moscow has not commented on the accusation. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials denounced the drone strikes as evidence that Russia has no real intent to negotiate, calling the Istanbul talks a “pretence”
International Engagements and Leadership Movements
President Zelensky visited the Vatican on Sunday, meeting privately with Pope Leo after his inauguration mass and also briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Rome.
Topics discussed included:
- The ineffectiveness of Russia’s low-level delegation in Turkey
- The urgency of new sanctions
- Ways to advance toward a lasting peace deal
Russia currently occupies approximately 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea, annexed in 2014.
