Ukraine’s Zelenskyy plans to hit Russia with ‘1,000 drones’ a day

What the report says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that he wants Ukraine’s military to step up long-range drone attacks on Russia, setting a target of at least 1,000 drones a day. Al Jazeera reported that this would be a sharp increase from an estimated current rate of about 300, and comes as Russia continues to launch attacks across Ukraine.

The report said the remarks were made in Zelenskyy’s evening address and that he framed the goal as a practical military task. He also referred to information passed from the United States about meetings in Moscow involving CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The Kremlin confirmed Ratcliffe had met Russian intelligence officials, while saying there were no meetings with President Vladimir Putin. Al Jazeera noted the visit was a rare direct intelligence-level engagement at a time when peace talks have stalled.

Al Jazeera also reported continuing casualties from Russian strikes across several regions of Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv, Sumy, Kherson and Kharkiv said people were killed and wounded in drone, air and artillery attacks over the past day, including civilians and at least one child among the injured. The article said Ukrainian forces also struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, which Zelenskyy linked to pressure on Russian fuel supplies and military production. The broader significance is that both sides appear to be escalating attacks deep behind the front lines while diplomacy remains limited.