Russia launches ‘deadly decoy drones’ in waves of unmanned Shahed strikes as Ukraine fights back with long-range attacks on Moscow infrastructure as war heats up hours before Trump-Putin peace talks
Kremlin forces launched 174 deadly kamikaze drones overnight killing at least three Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv fought back with long-range attacks deep inside Russia as Russians used a chilling new ‘decoy drone tactic’.
Air defences blasted 90 of Russia’s Shahed weapons which were fired from at least five different directions and were accompanied by a number of ‘decoy drones.’ Moscow’s troops are trying to bypass and dupe Ukraine ’s ground to air defence operators by trying to divert them onto decoys so high-explosive drones get through. The civilians were killed in drone blasts on Sumy, the Donetsk community of Myrnohrad and the Seredyna-Buda area as Ukraine launched counter-attacks inside Russia Explosions were also heard in the capital Kyiv overnight but there were no reports of casualties.
Ukrainian drones attacked a fuel and energy facility in Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast setting off a major blaze according to regional governor Igor Babushkin. He said: “Overnight, the Ukrainian Armed Forces again attempted a massive drone attack on facilities located in the region, including a fuel and energy complex.” Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had destroyed 13 drones over the region.
Astrakhan Oblast is located in southwestern Russia and borders Kazakhstan, at least 500 miles from the Ukraine front-line. Kyiv’s commanders are increasingly targeting Russia’s energy and military infrastructure to disrupt Moscow’s war effort. They have Kyiv focused on smashing Russian refineries, oil depots, and defense industry sites, aiming to limit Moscow’s ability to sustain its full-scale invasion.
It came as Russian forces desperately try to push back Ukrainian forces from inside their own border in Kursk. They have sent reconnaissance drones over Ukraine’s Sumy region as a prelude to major artillery strikes. Ukraine’s troops, including special operations teams are fighting Russia’s counter-attack in a bid to gain leverage in any so-called peace deal.
Experts believe there are over 600,000 Russian troops fighting in Ukraine who have taken almost 25% of its territory in more than three years of grinding war. But Ukrainian forces are still inside battling Moscow’s troops who are hoping to drive them back into their own territory.
The Kremlin’s advance into Ukraine has been grinding, costly and painfully slow. It has taken a year for Russia’s troops to advance about 25 miles west. Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka, just north of Donetsk, in February 2024 after months of fighting.
Eastern Ukraine has been contested territory since 2014, when Russian-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia had already seized the southern peninsula of Crimea in February 2014 before annexing it soon afterwards.
It comes as US President Donald Trump is set to speak with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The call between the two world leaders was announced by US special envoy Steve Witkoff amid a tense backdrop that sees Putin continuing to resist a US-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump has said it is unlikely Ukraine will return to its pre-2014 borders but, in response to a question from the BBC, he said “some of that land will come back.” Despite Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accepting the proposed unconditional ceasefire, Putin has said Ukraine must agree to give up ambitions of joining NATO and surrender territory to Russia before there will be any pause in the bloodshed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Russian-held territory in Ukraine could be swapped for territory seized by Ukraine in Russia’s western Kursk region in recent months as part of a peace deal. Ukraine seized control of part of the region in a surprise attack launched across the border by Ukrainian troops in August, advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into the Russian region.
After two weeks, Ukraine’s top commander claimed to control more than 1,200 sq km of Russian territory and 93 villages. However, by March 13, Putin said the situation in the region was “fully under our control”, adding Ukrainian equipment had been “abandoned.”