Kyiv and Moscow battle for strategic edge amid U.S. push for talks
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 88 Ukrainian drones overnight with no injuries or damage reported, Russian authorities said on Sunday.
The Russian defence ministry said that 52 of the drones were destroyed over the border Belgorod region, while 13 were over the Lipetsk region and nine were over the Rostov region, both in Russia’s southwest.
The rest of the Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia’s Voronezh, Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Ryazan and Kursk regions.
Governors of the Lipetsk and Ryazan regions said overnight that their regions were under air raid alerts, but they did not report any damage or injuries.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that the airports of Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan were closed for traffic for several hours overnight to ensure air safety.
Unofficial Russian news Telegram channels reported that the Ukrainian attack on Ryazan and Lipetsk targeted local oil refineries.
Ukrainian Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, who heads the Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the National Security and Defense Council, said, without providing evidence or saying directly that Ukrainian drones were involved, that the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant in Lipetsk was under attack.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports on what was targeted in the attacks.
Ukraine has said that its attacks in the war are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts.
In the meantime, Ukraine’s air defences shot down 73 of 119 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Sunday, the air force said, adding that 37 drones were “lost”, in reference to the military’s use of electronic warfare to redirect them. The military reported damage in six Ukrainian regions but provided no immediate details.
Amid U.S. efforts to sit Kyiv and Moscow at the negotiating table, the sides continue to engage in active hostilities in an attempt to gain an advantage.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that his country is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with U.S. representatives in Saudi Arabia over ways to end the war with Russia.
In parallel, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is “strongly considering” imposing banking sanctions, other sanctions, and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace agreement is reached with Ukraine.
“President Trump is determined to end the war as soon as possible and emphasized that all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace,” the State Department said in a statement after a call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
