Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles and drones the day before the two sides meet for a fresh round of direct talks in Istanbul, while a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday (June 1, 2025) that a Ukrainian drone attack had destroyed over 40 Russian planes deep within Russian territory. Speaking on condition of anonymity to reveal operational details, the official claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally oversaw the strike, which took more than 1 1/2 years to carry out.
According to him, the operation involved delivering drones deep into Russian territory in truck-borne containers. On Sunday afternoon, the drones reportedly struck 41 bombers who were positioned at a number of airfields, including the Belaya air base in the Irkutsk area of Russia, which is more than 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) away from Ukraine.
According to local governor Igor Kobzev, it is the first time a Ukrainian drone has been spotted in the area. In a statement, he added that a truck had launched the drone. Drone activity was also reported Sunday afternoon by Russian officials in the Ryazan and Murmansk districts, however they did not provide any additional information.
The assault occurred on the same day that Mr. Zelenskyy announced Ukraine would send a delegation to Istanbul on Monday for fresh direct peace negotiations with Russia. The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Zelenskyy stated in a Telegram announcement. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelenskyy said.
Prior to the conference, Ukrainian authorities had demanded that the Kremlin provide a promised memorandum outlining its stance on ending the war. During the negotiations, Moscow had promised to release its memoranda. A Russian strike targets an army battalion. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 472 drones against Ukraine on Sunday, the most since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the air force. Ukraine’s army reported earlier Sunday that a Russian missile strike on an army training unit had killed at least 12 Ukrainian military men and injured over 60 more. The statement emphasised that no formations or large meetings of employees were being held at the time of the strike, which took place at 12:50 p.m.
According to the statement, an investigative panel was established to determine the facts behind the incident that resulted in such a loss of troops. Russian reconnaissance and strike drones can strike from the training unit, which is situated at the back of the 1,000-kilometer active front line.
As Russian drones dominate the sky over the front line in search of targets, Ukraine’s military face a scarcity of personnel and take extra care to avoid large crowds. “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.
Pressure from the north On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced that it had captured the village of Oleksiivka in the northern Sumy area of Ukraine. As Russian soldiers continue to advance in the region, Ukrainian officials in Sumy ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 further communities on Saturday. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s top army, stated in a statement on Saturday that Russian forces were concentrating their primary offensive attempts on the border region of Sumy and the Donetsk region’s Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman.
