In this image drawn from the video published on June 1, 2025, by a source from the Ukrainian security service shows a Ukrainian drone hitting Russian planes deep inside the territory of Russia.
AP / Source in the Ukrainian security service
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AP / Source in the Ukrainian security service
Kyiv, Ukraine – A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed more than 40 Russian planes in the depths of the territory of Russia, said on Sunday a Ukrainian security official, while Russia has stopped Ukraine with missiles and drones before the two parties meeting for a new series of direct discussions in Istanbul.
The official, who spoke under the cover of anonymity to disclose operational details, said that the attack took over 1,1 1/2 years to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The operation has seen drones transported in containers transported by trucks deeply in Russian territory, he said. Drones have struck aerodromes, including Belaya air base in the Russian Irkutsk region, more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) in Ukraine. This is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, said local governor Igor Kobzeva, stressing that he did not present a threat to civilians.
The attack was disclosed on the same day that Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new series of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We do everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” said Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian officials had already called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum exercising its position at the end of the war before the meeting. Moscow said that she would share her memorandum during the talks.
The Russian strike strikes an army unit
Russia launched the largest number of drones – 472 – on Ukraine since the large -scale invasion in February 2022 on Sunday, the Air Force of Ukraine said.
Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the drone dam, said Yuriy Ignat, head of Air Force communications. Earlier Sunday, the army of Ukraine said that at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and more than 60 injured in a Russian missile strike on army training unit.
The strike took place at 12:50 p.m., according to the press release, stressing that no training rally of staff was held at the time. A commission of inquiry was created to discover the circumstances around the attack which led to such a loss of personnel, according to the press release.
The training unit is located at the rear of the active front line of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), where Russian recognition and strike drones can strike.
The forces of Ukraine suffer from labor shortages and take additional precautions to avoid mass rallies, because the sky through the front line is saturated with Russian drones in search of objectives.
“If it is established that the actions or inaction of civil servants have led to death or injuries of the military, the officials will be held strictly responsible,” the Ukrainian press release said.
Northern pressure
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Sumy authorities ordered compulsory evacuations in 11 other colonies on Saturday while Russian forces have stable gains in the region.
Speaking on Saturday, the Ukraine army leader Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Russian forces concentrated their main offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Totretsk and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as in the border area of ​​Sumy.
