Russia Unleashes Record Overnight Drone Attack On Ukraine Amid Peace Talks

Russia launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine in what Ukrainian officials have described as the largest overnight drone assault since the full-scale war began three years ago, according to Ukraine's air force on Monday.

The wave of attacks comes as Moscow intensifies its summer offensive, even as direct peace negotiations continue, reported AP.

Photo Credit: AP/PTI

In addition to the drones, the Russian military also fired 20 missiles of varying types across different parts of the country, primarily targeting central and western Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force reported that its defences successfully intercepted 277 drones and 19 missiles during Sunday night's bombardment.

Authorities said only 10 of the airborne weapons reached their targets, with one person reportedly injured. The claims could not be independently verified.

The surge in aerial assaults has coincided with a renewed Russian push along eastern and north-eastern sectors of the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Sunday evening that "the situation is very difficult" in some of those contested areas, though he did not elaborate further.

Facing a numerically superior adversary, Ukraine continues to appeal for increased military support from its Western allies, particularly in the form of air defence systems.

However, ongoing uncertainty over the direction of US policy regarding the war has raised concerns about the extent to which Kyiv can rely on sustained Western assistance.

Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, held in Istanbul, have so far produced limited outcomes, beyond agreements to exchange prisoners and retrieve the bodies of fallen and severely wounded soldiers.

Russian drone attacks typically begin after nightfall and continue into the early morning, as the cover of darkness makes detection more difficult.

Throughout the conflict, Russia has used Shahed drones to strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, despite Moscow's repeated assertions that it targets only military objectives.

According to the United Nations, more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the invasion began.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has developed long-range drones capable of striking targets deep within Russian territory. On Monday, Russia's Ministry of Defence stated it had downed 49 Ukrainian drones overnight across seven different regions.

In the Chuvashia region, located over 600 kilometres east of Moscow, two drones reportedly struck a plant that manufactures electronic warfare equipment.

In the Voronezh region, local governor Alexander Gusev said 25 drones had been intercepted overnight, with one damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small blaze.

Ukraine's General Staff also claimed that its special operations forces had struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. No details were provided on how the aircraft were attacked.