A Ukrainian security official says Kyiv destroyed more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Image via AP.

A Ukrainian security official told the Associated Press Sunday that Kyiv has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes in a drone attack deep in Russia’s territory.

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 Zelenskyy.

Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday, Zelenskyy said, even as Russia pounded Ukraine with a missile strike that killed 12 soldiers and the biggest drone assault of the three-year war.

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

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.

Russia launched the biggest number of drones on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion three years ago, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. The air force said 472 drones were launched over Ukraine.

Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the Ukrainian 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. (09:50 GMT), 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.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes were reported deep in Russian territory Sunday, including in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, more than 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) east of Moscow.

It is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, local Gov. Igor Kobzeva said, stressing that it did not present a threat to civilians.

Other drone strikes were also reported in Russia’s Ryazan region and the Arctic Murmansk region. No casualties were reported.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense 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.

___

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.