(LONDON) — Ukrainian forces are increasing the intensity of long-range drone strikes deep into Russia, according to data released by Moscow, ahead of Friday’s planned meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported downing another 59 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday morning, with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reporting that at least nine craft were shot down en route to the capital.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, reported temporary restrictions on flights at airports in Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Volgograd and Saratov during the overnight attacks.
Monday’s figures bring the total number of long-range Ukrainian drones claimed shot down by Russian forces in August to 1,337 — with a daily average of more than 121 drones each day.
Moscow only provides data on the number of drones it claims to have shot down, and not the overall number of Ukrainian craft launched. Neither Ukraine nor Russia provide public information on the scale of their own cross-border drone attacks.
In July, the total number of Ukrainian drones claimed downed over the course of the month was 3,008, with an average of just over 97 craft per day.
Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 100 drones into Ukraine overnight into Monday morning, of which 70 were intercepted or suppressed.
Thus far in August, the intensity of Russian strikes on Ukraine appear to have eased. The first 11 days of this month have seen Moscow launch a daily average of 74 drones and one missile into Ukraine, compared with record-breaking July figures of 201 drones and around six missiles per day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his officials have said Kyiv will continue and expand its long-range strikes in an effort to force Moscow to the negotiating table.
“They in Russia must clearly feel the consequences of what they are doing against Ukraine,” the president said in a statement posted to Telegram in May. “And they will. Attack drones, interceptors, cruise missiles, Ukrainian ballistic systems — these are the key elements. We must manufacture all of them.”
It is not clear whether Zelenskyy will attend Friday’s summit in Alaska. There, Trump and Putin are expected to discuss proposals to secure a ceasefire and potentially to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, which it launched in February 2022.
Zelenskyy has insisted that any negotiations must include Ukraine. Kyiv will also not officially cede any territory, accept limitations on its armed forces, or jettison its ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, Zelenskyy has said.
Putin, though, is demanding that Ukraine cede several regions — not all of which are controlled by Russian troops — in the south and east of the country, accept curbs on the size and sophistication of its military and be permanently excluded from NATO.
Russia’s demands, Zelenskyy has said, constitute an attempt to “partition Ukraine.”
Speaking from the White House on Friday, Trump suggested a settlement could include “some swapping of territories.”
Zelenskyy swiftly rejected the proposal, saying Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
On Monday, Zelenskyy appealed for more pressure on the Kremlin. “Russia is prolonging the war and therefore deserves stronger pressure from the world,” he wrote on Telegram.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings and therefore should not receive any rewards or benefits,” he added.
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