Moscow attacked by ‘massive’ drone barrage ahead of US-Ukraine talks

LONDON — Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, in what appeared to be Kyiv’s largest cross-border aerial attack on Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

The ministry reported downing UAVs over 10 Russian regions. Moscow air defenses were firing through the night while facing multiple waves of attack drones, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The Defense Ministry said it shot down 91 drones over the capital.

The attack on Moscow was “massive,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said at least two people were killed and eight injured in the capital.

Several high-rise residential buildings, houses and businesses were damaged by drones or falling debris, Vorobyov said.

Russia’s federal air agency said flights were suspended at all four of Moscow’s airports, with flights at airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions to the east of Moscow also grounded.

The Ukrainian military did not immediately comment on the strikes.

The drone barrage came as U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators prepared to open ceasefire talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday after weeks of tensions and public disagreements.

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing Kyiv to make concessions in pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion of the country. The White House also wants Ukraine to sign off on a controversial minerals sharing agreement Trump has framed as a way to recoup tens of billions of U.S. aid sent to Ukraine since 2022.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not accept any deal that does not include concrete security guarantees to prevent repeat Russian aggression in the future.

Trump has framed Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main impediment to peace, falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war, seeking to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and publicly aligning with Moscow’s false narratives around the conflict. The U.S. has sought to push Ukraine to the negotiating table by putting a freeze on military aid and some intelligence sharing.

“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who will take part in Tuesday’s talks — said on Monday.

Rubio said the Russians “are going to have to do difficult things” too, though Trump and his top officials have not said what concessions Moscow may be asked to make. U.S. and Russian negotiators first met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month.

Zelenskyy traveled to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman. Zelenskyy will not take part in Tuesday’s talks with the American delegation.

Zelenskyy said he had a “detailed discussion” with Salman on “the steps and conditions needed to end the war and secure a reliable and lasting peace,” in a social media post after the two leaders met.

“I specifically emphasized the issue of the release of prisoners and the return of our children, which could become a key step in building trust in diplomatic efforts. A significant part of the discussion was dedicated to the formats of security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian delegation will “remain” in the country to “work with the U.S. team” on Tuesday. Zelenskyy said he hopes for “practical outcomes,” from the U.S.-Ukraine meeting.

“Ukraine’s position in these talks will be fully constructive,” he added.

A source close to Zelenskyy confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine will propose a partial ceasefire in its talks with the U.S. The partial ceasefire would apply to long-range air strikes and attacks at sea, the source said.

The timeframe for the truce remains unclear.

“We want to propose a partial ceasefire that can be monitored and then see how the Russians respond to determine the next steps,” the source added.

Rubio told reporters on Monday he saw some promise in Ukraine’s partial ceasefire proposal.

“I’m not saying that alone is enough, but it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end this conflict,” he said.

Rubio said finalizing the mineral deal with Ukraine was “an important topic, but it’s not the main topic on the agenda.”

“It’s certainly a deal the president wants to see done but it doesn’t necessarily have to happen tomorrow,” he said. “There’s still more details to work out.”

In the meantime, nightly exchanges of drones and missiles appear set to continue.

Ukraine’s air force said its forces tracked one Iskander ballistic missile and 126 drones fired into the country overnight. The missile and 79 drones were shot down, the air force said, with another 35 UAVs lost in flight without effect.

Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv were impacted, the statement said.

Nataliia Popova, Ellie Kaufman and Oleskiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.