Russia flexed its military muscles mere hours before Donald Trump’s planned peace call with Vladimir Putin. Russia on Sunday evening fired 273 drones at Ukrainian areas such as Kyiv, killing one woman and injuring four others. Although Ukraine destroyed dozens of drones, the remaining ones went off radar.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence discloses that Russia will conduct a test-launch of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) mere hours after the Trump-Putin telephone conversation.
The news comes as Trump heads into consecutive meetings with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and NATO partners, seeking a 30-day ceasefire Ukraine and Europe endorse—but Putin still refuses.
Massive Drone Attack Strikes Ukraine
Late Sunday evening, Russia fired 273 drones on Ukraine’s Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions. The extent of the attack — the biggest ever drone salvo since war broke out — was confirmed by Ukraine’s air force.
Ukrainian defense forces destroyed 88 drones, and 128 went missing from radars, suspected to be the result of electronic jamming. The attack was primarily directed at Kyiv, where air defense systems illuminated the night skies, according to The New York Times.
The drone attack killed a 28-year-old woman and wounded four others, one of whom was a four-year-old child. Material damage was minimal, but the attack marks Russia’s increasing belligerence even as peace negotiations are still under discussion.
Russia Spikes with ICBM Test Plan
Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency HUR announced that Russia will launch a test-flight of an RS-24 Yars ICBM on Monday night. The nuclear-capable missile will have a non-nuclear dummy warhead for the test.
The timing is not an accident. HUR explained the move is intended to put pressure on Ukraine and European allies, just hours after Putin’s planned call with Trump.
Putin Rejects Peace as Trump Pushes Talks
US President Donald Trump will talk to Putin at 10 am ET (7:30 pm IST) on Monday, preceded by a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders.
Prior to these telephonic conversations, France’s Emmanuel Macron, UK’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni addressed Trump collectively. They appealed to Putin to approve the 30-day unconditional ceasefire that Europe and Ukraine are backing.
Macron emphasized that Putin needs “to demonstrate he wants peace” by embracing Trump’s proposal. Starmer threatened sanctions if Russia will not engage. However, Putin dismissed all three ceasefire proposals floated by Trump to date.
On the other hand, Ukraine has accepted all three — including overall hostilities, energy infrastructure, and the Black Sea region. Trump and some of his allies, however, have criticized Ukraine again and again, yet failed to sanction Russia for ongoing offensives.
Calculated Message from Moscow
The weekend’s moves — a huge drone strike and a future ICBM test — constitute a calculated approach. Russia’s objective is to demonstrate power, deflate Western pressure, and change the narrative before peace negotiations.
Ukraine’s HUR cautioned that Moscow’s aim is to ramp up drone warfare to over 500 drones in one strike. The former record was 263 drones on February 23.
As Trump takes the lead on ceasefire talks, Russia continues to escalate, leaving the world questioning Putin’s willingness to end the war.
