Kiev says over 40 military aircraft destroyed in drone attack deep inside Russia

KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose operational details, said the attack took over a year and a half to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The operation saw drones transported in containers carried by trucks deep into Russian territory, he said. The drones reportedly hit 41 bombers stationed at several airfields on Sunday afternoon, including the Belaya air base in Russia’s Irkutsk region, more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) from Ukraine.

It is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, regional governor Igor Kobzev said. He also said in a statement that the drone had been launched from a truck. Russian officials in the Ryazan and Murmansk regions also reported drone activity on Sunday afternoon, but did not give further details.

Also on Sunday, at least seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge in Russia’s Bryansk region, neighboring Ukraine, was blown up over a passenger train heading to Moscow with 388 people on board. No one has yet claimed responsibility.

The attacks came the same day as Zelensky said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.

Ukrainian SBU security service sources tell @FT the agency is conducting “a large-scale special operation to destroy enemy bomber aircraft” deep inside Russia.

“SBU drones are targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night. At this point, more than 40 aircraft have… pic.twitter.com/a3YwQB8ZC5

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) June 1, 2025

In a statement on Telegram, Zelensky said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelensky said.

After days of uncertainty over whether Ukraine would even attend, Zelensky’s announcement confirmed the country’s participation. Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed the talks, which have so far yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war, but no progress toward ending the conflict.

According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides are expected to present respective documents outlining their visions for peace. Ukrainian negotiators will reportedly offer a roadmap that includes no restrictions on Ukraine’s future military strength, no recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied territories, and a demand for reparations.

Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.

Russian strike hits an army unit

Russia on Sunday launched the biggest number of drones — 472 — on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s air force said.

Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the air force. Earlier Sunday, Ukraine’s army said at least 12 Ukrainian service members were killed and more than 60 were injured in a Russian missile strike on an army training unit.

The strike occurred at 12:50 p.m., the statement said, emphasizing that no formations or mass gatherings of personnel were being held at the time. An investigative commission was created to uncover the circumstances around the attack that led to such a loss in personnel, the statement said.

The training unit is located to the rear of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) active front line, where Russian reconnaissance and strike drones are able to strike.

Ukraine’s forces suffer from manpower shortages and take extra precautions to avoid mass gatherings as the skies across the front line are saturated with Russian drones looking for targets.

“If it is established that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death or injury of servicemen, those responsible will be held strictly accountable,” the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ statement said.

Northern pressure

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region. Ukrainian authorities in Sumy ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 more settlements Saturday as Russian forces make steady gains in the area.

Speaking Saturday, Ukraine’s top army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russian forces were focusing their main offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as the Sumy border area.

Russia’s May advances amounted to about 450 square kilometers — its fastest monthly progress in at least six months, according to open-source pro-Ukrainian mapping sources. The US estimates that over 1.2 million people have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.

Putin has demanded that Ukraine abandon its NATO aspirations and withdraw from all four regions claimed by Russia as a precondition for any peace deal. Ukraine, meanwhile, insists that negotiations begin using current front lines as a reference, not as a recognition of territorial loss.

US President Donald Trump has publicly pressured both sides to make peace and suggested he could withdraw American support if no deal is reached — effectively shifting the burden to European powers with smaller stockpiles of cash and weapons. While Trump has called Putin “crazy” and openly criticized Zelensky, he maintains that a resolution is still possible.

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