Russia has unleashed nearly 500 drones on Ukraine in the largest overnight drone attack of the three-year conflict, according to the nation’s air force. The horror aerial assault comes as the Kremlin intensifies its summer offensive amidst ongoing peace talks that have yet to yield any progress towards ending the hostilities.
Alongside the 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were launched at different regions of Ukraine, primarily targeting the central and western areas, the air force reported. The Ukrainian air force claimed that its air defences intercepted 277 drones and 19 missiles mid-flight on Sunday night, with only 10 drones or missiles reaching their intended targets.
One casualty was reported, although these claims could not be independently confirmed. A recent surge in aerial assaults aligns with Russia’s renewed ground offensive on the eastern and northeastern sections of the approximately 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged late Sunday that “the situation is very difficult.”
in some of these areas, but did not provide further details. Despite being outnumbered on the front line against its larger adversary, Ukraine continues to call for additional military support from its Western allies, particularly in terms of air defences.
However, uncertainty surrounding U.S. policy on the conflict has raised questions about the extent of assistance Kyiv can expect. Despite this, Ukraine has managed to deliver some impressive counterattacks, including a recent drone strike on remote Russian air bases, which was unprecedented in its scale and sophistication.
On Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that their special operations forces had targeted two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, approximately 650 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border. The statement did not detail how the planes were hit and there was no immediate response from Russian authorities.
Some Russian war bloggers have claimed that the warplanes were undamaged.
Russian officials have attributed recent intensified attacks to a series of retaliations for Ukraine’s strikes on air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Monday that a strike on a Ukrainian air base in Dubno, in the western Rivne region, was one such retaliation.
Despite two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, no significant breakthroughs have been achieved, aside from agreements to exchange prisoners and thousands of their deceased and seriously injured troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated his intention to continue fighting until his conditions are met.
The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians represents a minor sign of cooperation amidst otherwise unsuccessful attempts to agree on a ceasefire. However, disagreements persist over the transfer of soldiers killed in action.
Over the weekend, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of failing to collect the bodies of its fallen soldiers that Russia had made available.
Zelenskyy has alleged that Moscow has failed to share the names of over a thousand Ukrainians whose bodies are in Russian-controlled territories, despite agreements made. He described the actions of Russian authorities as “dirty” games.
Nonetheless, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that they anticipate the body swap to proceed, while noting that detailed arrangements for the transfer have yet to be established.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, predicted the exchange of soldiers’ remains will begin this week.
Throughout the conflict, Russia has been launching Shahed drones at Ukrainian civilian areas, resulting in the death of more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, as reported by the United Nations. Russia maintains it only hits military objectives.
In retaliation, Ukraine has developed long-range drones capable of reaching targets deep inside Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense declared on Monday that it managed to shoot down 49 Ukrainian drones during the previous night across seven regions in Russia.
Two drones struck an establishment specialising in electronic warfare equipment in Chuvashia, situated over 600 kilometres east of Moscow, according to local authorities.
Alexander Gusev, who leads Russia’s Voronezh region, claimed 25 drones were intercepted there overnight, which led to damage of a gas pipeline and a minor fire.