Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine says Russia launched 'record' drone barrage

The attacks came two days after the first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years, which failed to produce a truce.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview released on Sunday that his focus was on eradicating what he called the root causes of the Ukraine conflict and guaranteeing Russia's security.

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia had launched "273 Shahed attack drones and various types of imitator drones", of which 88 were destroyed and 128 more went astray "without negative consequences".

Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said it was a "record" number of drones. "Russia has a clear goal -- to continue killing civilians," she said.

The Russian military said it had intercepted 25 Ukrainian drones overnight and on Sunday morning. Moscow also claimed it had captured Bahatyr, another village in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, as it intensifies the war effort despite the talks.

Russia's overnight drone attacks were roundly condemned by Ukrainian officials.

"For Russia, the negotiations in Istanbul are just a pretence. Putin wants war," said Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak.

Meantime, the Ukrainian president was in the Vatican at Pope Leo's inauguration mass, where he shook hands with US Vice President JD Vance for the first time since the shouting match in the White House, and will meet with the pontiff himself later.

"The martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen," Leo XIV said ahead of the meeting.

- 'Root causes' -

In his interview with Russian state TV, Putin said Moscow's aim was to "eliminate the causes that triggered this crisis, create the conditions for a lasting peace and guarantee Russia's security", without elaborating further.

Russia's references to the "root causes" of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for launching the invasion in February 2022.

They include pledges to "de-Nazify" and demilitarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country's east, push back against NATO expansion and stop Ukraine's westward geopolitical drift.

Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia's offensive is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.

Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia started the war, with millions forced to flee their homes.

Putin said that the Russian army, which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, had the "troops and means required" to achieve its goals.

Friday's talks in Turkey -- the first direct Ukraine-Russia encounter since shortly after Moscow invaded in February 2022 -- led to an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the "next step" would be a meeting between the two presidents.

Russia said it had taken note of the request, but then said that the swap had to be completed first and both sides needed to present their visions for a ceasefire before the next round of negotiations could be arranged.

US President Donald Trump, who claimed during his campaign for re-election last year that he could end the war in days -- said on Saturday that he would speak by phone with Putin on Monday.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST