A Ukrainian drone struck a Russian industrial plant some 1300km from Ukraine, a local official said today, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prioritised the weapon’s development and Russia pounded Ukraine with a monthly record of drones in June.

Both sides have raced to improve drone technology and enhance their use on the battlefield since the war erupted three years ago.

The two countries have deployed increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones, turning the war into a testing ground for the new weaponry.

Ukraine is under severe strain from a Russian push at places on the roughly 1000km front line, but analysts say its defences are largely holding firm. With recent direct peace talks delivering no progress on US-led international efforts to halt the fighting, Russia and Ukraine are bulking up their arsenals.

Russia last month launched 5438 drones at Ukraine, a new monthly record, according to official data collated by The Associated Press.

Ukraine is stepping up drone production

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone hit an industrial plant in Izhevsk, about 1000km east of Moscow, killing three people and injuring 35, Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurtia region, said. The plant’s workers were evacuated, he said.

The drone struck the Kupol Electromechanical Plant, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian military, according to an official with Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU.

At least two direct hits were recorded on the plant’s buildings, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

Ukraine has for months been using domestically produced long-range drones to strike plants, storage sites and logistical hubs deep inside Russian territory. In May last year, a Ukrainian drone hit an early-warning radar in the Russian city of Orsk, some 1800km from the Ukrainian border, Kyiv officials claimed.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s domestic production of drones was about to increase in response to Russia’s expanded barrages.

“The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones,” he said on Telegram earlier this week.

“This is extremely important. Russia is investing in its unmanned capabilities, Russia is planning to increase the number of drones used in strikes against our state. We are preparing our countermeasures.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said 60 Ukrainian drones were downed in several regions overnight, including 17 over Crimea, 16 over the Rostov region and four over the Saratov region.

At the same time, four Russian Shahed drones struck the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzia during the night, leaving more than 1600 households without power, according to authorities.

Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday that Russia fired 52 Shahed and decoy drones at the country overnight.

US envoy criticises Russian attacks

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, rebuked Russia for continuing to strike civilian areas of Ukraine while effectively rejecting a ceasefire and dragging its feet on a peace settlement.

“We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war,” Kellogg said on the social platform X late Monday. “Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”

Ukraine is developing its own defence industry as uncertainty remains over whether the Trump administration will continue to provide crucial military aid.

Between March and April, the US allocated no new aid to Ukraine, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks such support.

Europe continues its support and for the first time since June 2022 surpassed the US in total military aid, totaling €72 billion ($129.3 billion) compared with €65 billion ($116.73 billion) from the US, the institute said last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday held their first direct telephone call in almost three years.

The two leaders discussed the Iranian-Israeli war and the American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a statement on the Kremlin’s website said. Putin and Macron also talked about a peaceful settlement to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the Russian president stressing that any agreements should “be comprehensive and long-term” and “based on new territorial realities,” the Kremlin statement said.

Macron’s office said that the French leader underlined “France’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “called for a ceasefire to be established as soon as possible” so that peace negotiations can be launched.

The two presidents last held direct talks in September 2022.