Russia’s defence ministry said Monday that its forces intercepted and destroyed 162 Ukrainian drones overnight, just hours before a new round of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv was set to begin in Turkey.
In a statement, the ministry said the drones were downed between 1710 GMT and 2300 GMT on Sunday, with the majority intercepted over regions bordering Ukraine. Of those, 57 were shot down over the Kursk region and 31 over Belgorod.
The drone barrage came as delegations from both countries prepared to meet in Istanbul for their second round of direct negotiations since the early weeks of the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The attack also followed a bold Ukrainian strike on Sunday, when Kyiv claimed to have targeted and damaged multiple strategic bombers stationed at Russian airbases located deep inside the country — thousands of kilometres from the frontline.
AFP
