LONDON — Russia launched dozens of drones into Ukraine overnight, the air force in kyiv said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida.
Ukraine’s air force reported that 48 Russian drones fired into the country from Saturday night to Sunday morning, of which 30 were shot down or suppressed. Eighteen drones hit nine locations, the air force said.
The latest bombing caps an intense week of long-range Russian attacks, in which at least 1,810 drones and missiles have been fired, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.
Saturday night’s attacks came after Zelenskyy arrived in North America for further talks on a possible deal to end Russia’s large-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
This photo shows vehicles with headlights driving on an unlit road during a power outage in kyiv, Ukraine, on December 27, 2025.
Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images
Zelenskyy met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday. On Sunday, Zelenskyy will meet with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat on Saturday that Ukraine can only move towards peace if there are strong legal security guarantees from the United States and Europe. Ukraine has agreed to “many different commitments,” Zelenskyy added, stressing that they only make sense if the country is fully protected from the day after a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said the success of the ongoing talks depends on the continued support of Western allies. “If the whole world – Europe and the United States – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,” he said. “If someone, be it the United States or Europe, is on the side of Russia, this means that the war will continue.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that the West is offering Ukraine favorable terms on security, reconstruction and relations with Russia, but suggested that kyiv does not want a peaceful settlement.
Speaking during a visit to a military command post, Putin said Russia will achieve its goals by military means if Ukraine’s leaders do not agree to a peace deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Halifax, Canada, on December 27, 2025.
Riley Smith/AP
Zelenskyy has also been skeptical about Putin’s supposed willingness to end the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy described Moscow’s massive combined missile and drone strike overnight Friday as the Russian leader’s “answer to peace.”
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia’s continued attacks show “the real attitude of Putin and his entourage. They do not want to end the war and are trying to take advantage of every opportunity to inflict more pain on Ukraine and increase their pressure on others in the world.”
Ukraine continued its own campaign of long-range attacks against Russia into Sunday morning. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down at least 25 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Temporary flight restrictions have been introduced at the airports of Samara, Ulyanovsk, Penza, Yaroslavl and Kaluga, Russia’s federal air transport agency Rosaviatsiya reported.
