LONDON — Russia and Ukraine again exchanged a series of major overnight drone strikes as the two sides maneuvered ahead of a possible resumption of ceasefire talks later this week.
Renewed talks — if they do happen — would take place as both Kyiv and Moscow near new records for the scale and intensity of cross-border strikes, and as both sides commit to further scaling up long-range strike drone capabilities.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said Monday posts to Telegram that its forces downed 88 Ukrainian drones over seven Russian regions — including 23 craft over Moscow region.
That followed waves of Ukrainian attacks stretching from Saturday night through Sunday, during which the Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 221 drones — the highest daily total reported by the ministry since June 6.
Sunday night’s attacks prompted more disruption at major airports, according to Telegram posts by Artem Korenyako — a spokesperson for Russia’s federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya.
Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 21, 2025.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Korenyako said temporary restrictions on flights were introduced at Moscow’s Zhukovsky, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports, as well as the Strigino International Airport in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, around 240 miles east of the capital.
Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 426 strike and decoy drones into the country overnight, as well as 24 missiles of various types. In a post to Telegram, the air force said 404 drones and all missiles were intercepted or otherwise suppressed.
The air force added that 23 drones impacted in three locations, while falling drone debris was reported in 12 locations.
Kyiv was again rocked by explosions. There, at least one person was killed and nine people injured, Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko said in a post to Telegram.
Six city districts were affected, Tkachenko said, with residential buildings, a supermarket, a kindergarten and warehouse facilities were among those damaged and set ablaze.
The entrance to the Lukianivska metro station was also damaged, Tkachenko said. Residents of Kyiv retreat to metro stations nightly to shelter from Russian strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that the Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava and Kherson regions were all affected.
Across the country, at least two people were killed and 15 injured, Zelenskyy said.
“Only real pressure on Russia can stop this aggression,” he wrote.
Both sides are increasing the scale of their attacks. So far in July, Russia has launched a total of 4,929 drones and 148 missiles into Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s air force — at an average of around 234 drones and seven missiles each day.
June saw 5,438 drones and 239 missiles fired into Ukraine, with a daily average of 181 drones and nearly eight missiles.
A visitor at an exhibition takes a photo of parts of an Iranian-made Shahed drone in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 27, 2025.
Alina Smutko/Reuters
And in May, Russia launched a total of 3,835 drones and 117 missiles, for an average of around 124 drones and nearly four missiles each day.
Though smaller in scale, Ukraine also appears to be increasing the intensity of its drone attacks into Russia. So far this month, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported downing 2,284 Ukrainian drones at an average of 108 per day.
In June, the ministry reported downing a total of 2,368 Ukrainian drones, with an average of almost 79 drones per day across the month. Those figures were down from May, during which the ministry said it shot down 3,611 drones with an average of 116 per day.
Zelenskyy on Sunday appealed for new talks with Russia seeking a ceasefire to end Moscow’s full-scale invasion, in progress since February 2022 and still raging despite six months of efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration to force an end to the fighting.
Rustem Umerov, who last week was moved from his role as defense minister to serve as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, “reported that he has proposed another meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
“The pace of negotiations must be increased,” the president said. “Everything must be done to achieve a ceasefire. And the Russian side must stop hiding from decisions.”
On Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed Trump’s ultimatum — issued earlier this month — for Russia to agree to a ceasefire within 50 days or face more sanctions.
“Everyone is already used to his rather tough and straightforward rhetoric,” Peskov told journalists. “At the same time, he confirms his intentions to do everything possible to contribute to peaceful settlement.”
“In fact, President [Vladimir] Putin has repeatedly spoken about his desire to transfer Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful route as soon as possible,” Peskov added. “This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy. And, most likely, more and more people in Washington understand this.”
As to a possible meeting between Trump and Putin, Peskov replied, “It is possible, and over time it will definitely happen. It is necessary.”
An explosion of a Russian drone is seen in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 21, 2025.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
“Perhaps it will be necessary for the fixation of some major agreements, which will be achieved over time, after a huge amount of work has been done,” he continued. “But this time has not yet come. This work is yet to be done.”
“Russia is ready to move fast,” Peskov said. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious, they do not change. But the process depends not only on us.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Tanya Stukalova and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
