Kyiv and Moscow have escalated their conflict with a series of drone attacks exchanged on Sunday, coinciding with heightened diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the ongoing war. This development occurs just one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where discussions are expected to focus on ending the hostilities that have persisted for over three years.
Reports indicate that Ukraine’s air force noted a significant assault from Russia, involving 60 Iranian-made Shahed drones among other unmanned aerial vehicles, in addition to an Iskander missile strike. The consequences of these attacks were severe, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region, where Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that five individuals lost their lives due to Russian shelling on Saturday.
On the other side, the Russian defense ministry claimed that Ukraine retaliated with 46 drones targeting various locations within Russia. Most of these attacks occurred in border regions, but some even reached the Nizhny Novgorod area east of Moscow, demonstrating the widening scope of the conflict. In the border region of Kursk, acting governor Alexander Khinstein confirmed that a civilian died when a Ukrainian drone hit his vehicle. Additionally, in the southern Voronezh region, Governor Alexander Gusev reported that a railway worker was injured due to a drone attack.
This latest surge of drone warfare comes amid ongoing hostilities that have resulted in thousands of casualties and the displacement of millions of people since the mid-2022 full-scale invasion initiated by Russia. In a notable turn of events, Zelensky’s visit to Washington follows a recent meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. In the aftermath of their meeting, Trump shifted his approach from advocating for a ceasefire to prioritizing the pursuit of a peace agreement, aligning more closely with Russia’s objectives.
The situation continues to be fluid, with military activities intensifying even as diplomatic avenues are explored to mitigate the crisis that has drawn global attention and condemnation. As both sides prepare for further escalation or potential negotiations, the fate of Ukraine remains precarious amid the specter of continued conflict and instability.
