Russia and Ukraine continue to attack each other's energy facilities, waiting for a negotiation signal from the US

The war of UAVs and missiles

Russia used 653 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 51 missiles in a large-scale attack on Ukraine that put the country on air strike alert and occurred on Ukraine's Armed Forces Day (December 6), the country's air force said on Saturday morning.

The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down and neutralized 585 drones and 30 missiles, adding that 29 sites had been attacked. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least eight people had been injured in the attacks.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's national energy company Ukrenergo said on Telegram that Russia had carried out a "large-scale missile-drone attack" on power plants and other energy infrastructure in several regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine Russia — The Russia-Ukraine war is still fierce, despite the parties negotiating a peace agreement. Photo: TASS

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) quoted Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi as saying that Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all power outside the plant overnight.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy facilities were the main targets of attacks, noting that a drone attack had “burned down” the train station in the city of Fastiv, in the Kiev region.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had targeted "enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and energy facilities supporting them," adding that "all designated targets were hit."

Russia's defense ministry said its air defenses also faced a series of drone attacks this weekend, announcing that they had shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight through Saturday.

Russia's Telegram Astra news channel said Ukraine attacked Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery, sharing footage that appeared to show a fire breaking out and columns of smoke rising above the refinery.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine later said the Ukrainian military had attacked the refinery. Ryazan region governor Pavel Malkov said a residential building had been damaged in a UAV attack and drone debris had fallen on the grounds of an “industrial facility”.

For months, Ukraine has been using long-range drones to attack Russian oil refineries in an attempt to reduce its oil export revenue.

Waiting for the results of Ukraine's negotiations in the US

The latest round of attacks between Russia and Ukraine comes as advisers to US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian officials said they would meet for a third day of talks on Saturday in Florida, after making progress in seeking agreement on a security framework for post-war Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had received updates by phone from US and Ukrainian officials at the talks. “Ukraine is determined to continue good-faith cooperation with the American side to achieve real peace,” he wrote on social media.

Statements from US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov, came after a second day of meetings on Friday. They gave only broad outlines of what they said was progress toward ending the nearly four-year war.

In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would meet Mr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London next Monday to "assess" talks on the US-drafted plan.

The war of UAVs and missiles

Waiting for the results of Ukraine's negotiations in the US

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