Kyiv: Ukraine's air force has claimed that Russia has carried out the largest drone attack in a single night during the war, bombing with almost 500 drones. Russia has continued its offensive during direct peace talks. The talks have so far made no progress towards stopping the war.
Despite difficulties in reaching a ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another group of prisoners of war on Monday. The Ukrainian air force said that 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were attacked mainly in central and western regions of Ukraine.
The air force said that on Sunday night, Ukraine's air defense system destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in the air. It also claimed that only 10 drones or missiles reached their targets. Officials said one person was injured in the attack. However, these claims could not be independently verified.
Recently, air strikes have increased as Russia re-established its frontline in areas about 1,000 kilometers to the east and northeast. Ukrainian President Zelensky said late Sunday that the situation in some of these areas was very difficult. Ukraine is in a weak position on the fronts against its arch-enemy and needs more military support from its Western allies, especially for air defense, but uncertainty about US policy on the war has raised doubts about how much help Kiev will receive.
However, Ukraine has launched some surprise counterattacks. Its recent drone attack on remote Russian airfields was unprecedented in itself. Ukraine’s general staff claimed on Monday that special operations forces had shot down two Russian fighter jets based at the Savaslyka airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, about 650 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border.
The statement did not say how the aircraft were hit. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials on the claim. Some Russian war bloggers said the warplanes were not damaged. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 49 Ukrainian drones in seven Russian regions overnight. 
Local officials said two of the drones targeted a plant producing electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, 600 kilometers east of Moscow.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine exchanged some more prisoners of war. The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians is a small sign of cooperation in the failed attempts to agree on a ceasefire. Zelensky and the Russian Defense Ministry said some prisoners were exchanged on Monday. However, neither side said how many prisoners were exchanged.