Ukraine Fires 1,198 Drones at Russia in Largest Aerial Attack in Years

Ukraine launched nearly 1,200 drones at Russian targets overnight, marking one of the largest aerial offensives since Moscow began its full-scale invasion nearly five years ago. Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that air defense systems intercepted 1,198 of the long-range drones between late Thursday and early Friday. Local officials reported that the strikes impacted three Russian regions, killing seven people, including a 12-year-old, and injuring 17 others.

The assault coincided with a shift in U.S.-led peace negotiations held in Abu Dhabi. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin. The delegations agreed to include wider European security arrangements in upcoming discussions, a change Moscow has sought for years. This expansion has alarmed European leaders who fear their influence may be diminished.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned the necessity of reopening these discussions. “Russia wants to talk about questions of European security architecture. We don’t need to talk about that. There is one,” Merz said, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. European Council President Antonio Costa announced that diplomats from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the European Union would join the talks to ensure the continent is not sidelined.

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, noted that Russia agreed to include Europe in the process. He said on the social media platform X that this allows negotiators to address postwar security arrangements alongside territorial issues. However, European leaders remain cautious about Russian maneuvering and U.S. administrative actions.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, argued that Europe must insist on a ceasefire before advancing negotiations. “If we start to talk about what Russia is asking regarding the security architecture, we actually walk into the traps that Russia is setting us,” Kallas said in Dublin. Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden emphasized the need for European autonomy, stating, “We cannot let neither the Americans nor the Russians decide about our future.”

Zelenskyy raised concerns about speed limits on the Starshield system, the military version of Starlink satellite internet. He said restrictions limit Ukrainian drones to 161 kilometers per hour on the front line, hindering their ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. Ukrainian officials are asking the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, and SpaceX to clarify these limits. Elon Musk previously acknowledged that SpaceX throttled service in Ukraine for about a week in October.

Ukrainian forces reported hitting an oil refinery in the Russian city of Volgograd, starting a fire at a facility with a capacity of about 110 million barrels per year. Kyiv has claimed to have neutralized more than half of Russia’s refining capacity in recent months. The war continues along a front line approximately 1,200 kilometers long, where Ukrainian troops use drones and ground robots to defend against Russian advances.

Russia launched 117 drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people, including a 17-year-old. A strike on southern Zaporizhzhia hit two five-story apartment buildings, wounding 30 people, including six children. Artem Nekrasov, First Deputy Minister of Energy, said Russian attacks on energy infrastructure caused power outages across about half of Ukraine’s regions on Friday.