Ukraine’s security service released footage Wednesday of its attack on Russian war planes at multiple airbases across the country. In the span of a few hours on Sunday, nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.

It was already hard to imagine a breakthrough emerging from the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine set to be renewed in Istanbul on Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would sit down with Russian officials at the second round of peace talks on Monday.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022 with no sign they are any closer to an agreement, one day after Kyiv struck some of Moscow's nuclear-capable bombers.

President Donald Trump and Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet Thursday at the White House to talk about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Russian terms to end the war, while Vladimir Putin dismissed any meetings with what he called a terrorist regime.

Senior Ukrainian officials visited Washington on Tuesday seeking U.S. support against Russia, as Kyiv showed its ability to fight on by setting off an explosive device under a bridge that has become a symbol of the Kremlin's claims on Ukrainian territory.