Drone Activity Escalates Between Russia and Ukraine Before Zelensky-Trump Meeting

Daily Bijoy News Correspondent:

Ukraine and Russia Launch Drone Strikes Ahead of Zelensky-Trump Peace Talks Kyiv and Moscow exchanged drone attacks on Sunday, just one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to visit the United States for high-stakes talks with President Donald Trump aimed at ending more than three years of war. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, heavy fighting continues on multiple fronts. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 60 Iranian-made Shahed drones, along with other unmanned aerial vehicles and an Iskander missile, in attacks across Ukrainian territory.

In the eastern Donetsk region, Governor Vadym Filashkin confirmed that Russian strikes killed five people on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said Ukraine launched 46 drones into Russian territory, targeting border regions as well as the Nizhny Novgorod region—hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

In the Kursk region, acting governor Alexander Khinstein reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a man in his car. In the southern Voronezh region, Governor Alexander Gusev said a railway worker was injured in a separate drone attack. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian territory with drones since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022—a war that has left thousands dead and displaced millions.

Zelensky is set to arrive in Washington on Monday for talks with Trump, just three days after the former president hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Following his meeting with Putin, Trump reportedly shifted his stance from pushing a ceasefire to supporting broader peace negotiations—a position closely aligned with Moscow’s ongoing diplomatic messaging. Russian forces currently occupy large portions of southern and eastern Ukraine as the war nears the end of its third year.

Daily Bijoy News/ NP