Ukraine launches near-record drone assault on Russia
The attack coincided with U.S. envoys pushing European leaders to join peace talks that could reshape post-Cold War security agreements.
By James Foster ·
Ukraine fired nearly 1,200 drones at Russian targets during the night in one of the largest aerial strikes since the war began.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that air defenses shot down 1,198 long-range Ukrainian drones between Thursday night and Friday morning. The attacks hit three Russian regions and killed seven people, including a 12-year-old child, while injuring 17 others, according to local authorities.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reported on the progress of peace negotiations after two days of talks with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi. Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, said Russia agreed to include Europe in upcoming discussions. He posted on X that this would allow negotiators to address postwar European security agreements and territorial issues between Kyiv and Moscow.
U.S. officials traveled to the Kremlin to brief President Vladimir Putin and to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was speaking with European Union leaders in Dublin, Ireland. Witkoff and Kushner said additional contacts are scheduled as negotiators seek progress.
European leaders remain wary of the negotiations. Kaja Kallas, the head of EU diplomacy, told reporters in Dublin on Friday that Europe should insist on a ceasefire before moving further. She warned, "If we start talking about what Russia is asking regarding the security architecture, we actually fall into the traps that Russia is setting for us."
Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden added that Europe must control its own destiny. He stated, "We cannot allow either the Americans or the Russians to decide our future." The Institute for the Study of War assessed on Thursday that Moscow aims to dismantle NATO and the post-Cold War European security architecture.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is open to contact with Europeans. He explained that a decision on an expanded dialogue format is possible once Russia understands Europe's true intentions and its willingness to facilitate the peace process. Russia launched 117 drones at Ukraine during the same night, killing at least two people, including a 17-year-old teenager, and injuring 13 others, five of whom were minors, in an attack on southern Zaporizhzhia.
