Russia launched war's largest drone attack ahead of Putin-Trump call, Ukraine says

Ukraine says Russia has launched its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began, targeting several regions including Kyiv, where one woman died.

The barrage came just a day before a scheduled call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US President has been urging a ceasefire.

Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face talks in more than three years on Friday in Turkey, agreeing a new prisoner swap deal but little else.

Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 273 drones by 08:00 Sunday (05:00 GMT) targeting the central Kyiv region, and Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the east.

It said 88 drones were intercepted and another 128 went astray "without negative consequences".

The strikes killed one person in Obukhiv district in the Kyiv region, and injured at least three others - one of whom was a four-year-old child - officials reported.

The previous largest drone attack from Russia happened on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 23 February, when Moscow launched 267 drones.

Russia's military said it had intercepted 25 Ukrainian drones overnight and on Sunday morning.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he and leaders of the UK, France, and Poland would have a virtual meeting with Trump before his conversation with Putin on Monday morning.

The four leaders jointly visited Ukraine over two weeks ago to spearhead calls for a 30-day-ceasefire, backed by the so-called "coalition of the willing".

Ukraine's intelligence agency has said it believes Russia could be planning to carry out a "training and combat" launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight, as an attempted intimidation.

Russia has not responded to the claim.

Ukrainian officials said Saturday night's strikes showed Russia had no intention of stopping the war, despite international pressure for a ceasefire.

"For Russia, the negotiations [on Friday] in Istanbul are just a pretence. Putin wants war," said Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president.

Following the talks in Turkey, Trump had suggested there would be no progress towards peace until he and Putin meet face-to-face.

The US president has proposed a 30-day ceasefire agreement and threatened tougher sanctions if Russia doesn't comply.

Ukraine's President Zelensky has said he is ready to accept the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

But Russia will only agree to a pause in fighting if military supplies to Ukraine are halted.

Putin has also said any negotiations must include discussions about the cause of the war. Russia's terms include Ukraine becoming a neutral country, cutting the size of its military, and abandoning its Nato membership ambitions - conditions that Ukraine has rejected as tantamount to capitulation.

Moscow now controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

Zelensky was at the Vatican on Sunday where he had a private meeting with Pope Leo following the new pontiff's inauguration mass. He also briefly met US Vice President JD Vance in Rome.

The Ukrainian leader said they talked about the "low-level" delegation Putin sent to Turkey, the "need for sanctions against Russia", and how to achieve peace.

Source: BBC