Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Russian planes destroyed in drone attack ahead of Istanbul peace talks

Independent

3 days ago

Dozens of Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russia, a Ukrainian official has said, the day before critical peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv resume in Istanbul.
Codenamed 'spider web', first-person view (FPV) drones were smuggled deep inside Russian territory inside trucks, before they were unleashed on multiple Russian airfields destroying more than 40 warplanes, Ukrainian security officials said.
Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the 'absolutely brilliant' operation which he said destroyed one third of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases.
Russia confirmed on Sunday that Ukraine had targeted military airfields across five regions on Sunday, causing several aircraft to catch fire - but claimed it had repelled most of the attacks.
Vladimir Putin will be 'infuriated' by the 'unprecedented' attack if it is as damaging as Kyiv claims, head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre John Lough told The Independent, describing it as a 'huge win' for Ukraine.
The attack came one day before delegations from Moscow and Kyiv sit down for direct peace talks in Istanbul at 10am UK time (1pm local time) on Monday. Ukraine's delegation will be led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, Mr Zelensky said.
Seven killed in bridge collapse and train derailment in Russia - ICYMI
At least seven people were killed and 30 hospitalised after "illegal interference" caused a bridge to collapse and a train to derail in Russia's Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, Russian authorities said this morning.
The train's locomotive and several cars derailed "due to the collapse of a span structure of the road bridge as a result of an illegal interference in the operation of transport," Russian Railways said on Telegram.
Two children were among those hospitalised, one of them in a serious condition, according to Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region.
Among those killed was the locomotive driver, Russia's state news agencies reported, citing medics. Russia's ministry of emergency situations said its main efforts were aimed at finding and rescuing victims, and that some 180 personnel were involved in the operation.
Russia's Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law enforcement, reported without providing evidence that the bridge was blown up.
Since the start of the war that Russia launched more than three years ago, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes, and covert raids from Ukraine into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.
The train was going from the town of Klimovo to Moscow, Russian Railways said. It collided with the collapsed bridge in the area of a federal highway in the Vygonichskyi district of the Bryansk region.
The district lies some 100km from the border with Ukraine.
Alex Croft2 June 2025 00:15
Nato may be attacked by Russia in next four years, says German defence chief
Nato should prepare for a possible attack from Russia within the next four years, Germany's chief of defence has told the BBC.
Russia is producing hundreds of tanks per year, which could be used for an attack on Nato Baltic state members before 2029, General Carsten Breuer said.
Nato is facing a 'very serious threat' which is more significant than General Breuer has seen in his four decades of service, he told the BBC at the Shangri-la Dialogue, a defence summit in Singapore.
Russia is producing nearly 1,500 battle tanks per year, he added.
"Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine, but it's also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West," he said. "There's an intent and there's a buildup of the stocks.'
Alex Croft1 June 2025 23:30
Four killed in Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia as woman's home destroyed
Russian shelling and an air attack killed four people in areas outside the southeastern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor said on Sunday.
Ivan Fedorov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said three women died in a series of Russian shelling incidents targeting the village of Ternuvate, east of Zaporizhzhia. A shop and several homes were badly damaged.
A man died in a nearby district in a Russian strike by a guided aerial bomb, Fedorov said. A private home was destroyed.
1 June 2025 22:55
Drone attack destroyed one third of Russian strategic bombers, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Ukraine's operation against Russian airfields struck one third of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases.
'Today, a brilliant operation was carried out. The preparation took over a year and a half,' he wrote on X alongside his Sunday evening address.
'What's most interesting, is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions.
'In total, 117 drones were used in the operation with a corresponding number of drone operators involved. 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.'
Alex Croft1 June 2025 22:50
Russia says it has captured Oleksiivka in Ukraine's Sumy region
Russia's Defence Ministry has said Russian forces captured Oleksiivka in Ukraine's Sumy region.
It comes a day after the ministry claimed its forces captured two villages in eastern Ukraine - Novopil in Donetsk region and Vodolagy in Sumy region.
The Independent could not verify battlefield reports.
Hundreds of villages are under evacuation orders in the region amid fears that Russia could launch a significant offensive from the northeast.
Alex Croft1 June 2025 22:16
Recap | Ukraine says Russia launched biggest number of drones in 3-year war today
Russia launched 472 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said on Sunday, the highest nightly total of the war so far.
The air force said in a statement that Russia had also launched seven missiles.
It added that 382 of the drones were shot down or otherwise neutralised, along with three of the missiles.
Russia has recently stepped up the amount of drones it launches at Ukraine in its regular nightly barrages.
Alex Croft1 June 2025 21:49
Zelensky hails 'historic' attack on Russian warplanes
Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the 'absolutely brilliant' operation against Russian warplanes, saying it will 'undoubtedly be in [the[ history books'.
'A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation,' Mr Zelensky said
The Ukrainian agents involved in the operation were successfully extracted from Russian territory, he added.
Appearing to refer to the fact that a limited number of videos have so far been released - with analysts saying they cannot independently verify Kyiv's claim that 41 planes were destroyed - Mr Zelensky said: 'I instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to inform the public about the details and results of the operation that can be disclosed.
'Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books.'
In a later post on X, Mr Zelensky claimed one third of Russian strategic cruise carriers were destroyed.
'In total, 117 drones were used in the operation with a corresponding number of drone operators involved. 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.'
Alex Croft1 June 2025 21:30
Full report: Dozens of Russian warplanes destroyed in Ukrainian drone attack, claims Kyiv
Dozens of Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in an unprecedented Ukrainian drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia, Kyiv has said.
The so-called 'Spider Web' operation, carried out by Ukraine's SBU security service, saw drones smuggled thousands of kilometres into Russian territory using lorries, before they were unleashed to destroy more than 40 warplanes, the SBU said.
Vladimir Putin will be 'infuriated' by the 'unprecedented' attack if it is as damaging as Kyiv claims, Russia expert John Lough told The Independent, describing it as a 'huge win' for Ukraine that will boost morale within the military.
Dozens of Russian warplanes destroyed in Ukrainian drone attack, claims Kyiv
Putin will be 'infuriated' by the attack, a Russia expert said, which comes a day before Moscow and Kyiv sit down in Istanbul for direct peace talks
Alex Croft1 June 2025 21:02
Senior Ukrainian military commander tenders resignation over lethal strike on training facility
The commander of Ukraine's land forces, one of the most senior positions in the country's armed forces, announced on Sunday that he was tendering his resignation, citing a lethal strike on Ukrainian military training facility.
Alex Croft1 June 2025 20:40
Ukraine to set out roadmap for peace at Istanbul talks, document shows
Ukrainian negotiators will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement in Istanbul, according to a copy of the document seen by news agency Reuters.
The proposed roadmap begins with a full ceasefire of at least 30 days, to be followed by the return of all prisoners held by each side, and of Ukrainian children taken into Russian-held territory, and then a meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Under the blueprint, Moscow and Kyiv – with the participation of the United States and Europe – will work to hash out the terms on which they can agree to put a complete end to their three-year-old war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that they had sent the blueprint to the Russian side in advance of the Istanbul talks.