Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with top U.S. officials and European leaders on Sunday in Rome, ahead of a high-stakes phone call Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
The discussions came as Russia launched what Ukraine called its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire Friday, reports AP.
Zelenskyy spoke with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the US ambassador’s residence, after attending the inaugural Mass for Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.
Zelenskyy said on social media he had underscored the need for “real diplomacy” and reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to a “full and unconditional ceasefire.”
He said they discussed sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation and plans for the upcoming prisoner exchange with Russia that was agreed in talks between the two sides in Istanbul.
Russia on Sunday fired a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys targeting Ukraine’s Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, Ukraine’s air force said. Of those, 88 were intercepted and 128 lost, likely being electronically jammed.
Yuriy Ihnat, head of the air force’s communications department, told AP the barrage was the biggest drone attack since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Previously, Russia’s largest known single drone attack was on the eve of the war’s third anniversary, when Russia pounded Ukraine with 267 drones.
Kyiv regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said a 28-year-old woman was killed in a drone attack and three other people, including a 4-year-old child, were wounded.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones overnight and another 18 Sunday morning.