Zelensky gathers with Vance in Rome on the eve of the expected Trump-Putin phone call

But the meeting, which lasted less than two hours, did not result in a truce, as Kiev and his allies asked, and only a prisoners’ exchange was agreed, which highlights the abyss between the positions of Moscow and Kiev.

In this context, the Russian army launched a “record” number, according to vice-minister Yulia Sviridenko, of attack drones against Ukrainian territory during Saturday night.

These drones were directed against various oblasts (administrative regions), including the capital, Kiev, where a woman died.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched “273 attack drones Shahed and (…) baits”, of which 88 were destroyed and 128 turned “without negative consequences.”

“Russia has a clear goal: keep killing civilians,” said Sviridenko.

“For Russia, negotiations in Istanbul were just a pretext. Putin wants war,” said Ukrainian presidential administration, Andrii Yermak.