Russia reduces strikes on Ukraine ahead of Istanbul talks
Ahead of possible negotiations in Istanbul, Russia has significantly reduced its intensity of strikes on Ukraine, according to an analysis of recent reports from the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF).
In a marked change, the Russian military deployed 10 drones against Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, a number more than 10 times lower than the preceding two nights, as reported by the UAF. This reduction comes amidst calls from Ukraine’s European partners for Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire before the talks in Turkey, scheduled for May 15.
On that Tuesday night, all 10 drones, including attack drones and decoy UAVs, were reportedly intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses, according to the military report.
In stark contrast, the bombardment intensity over the prior two nights was substantially higher. The Russian forces launched as many as 108 drones against Ukraine on both Sunday and Monday nights, as indicated by UAF statements.
Prior to this, reports suggested that Russian forces had not used attack drones during a self-declared unilateral "ceasefire" period, lasting three days. However, on May 7th, immediately before the ceasefire, Russia launched 218 drones and five Iskander-M missiles targeting Ukraine.
According to Russian Ministry of Defense reports, there have been no drone strikes from Ukraine since Monday night. As of the time of this report, there have been no announcements of any Ukrainian UAVs being intercepted over internationally recognized Russian territories or occupied Crimea. On Sunday, Russian air defenses claimed to have downed eight UAF drones beyond the front lines.
For context, over the three-day "ceasefire," 58 Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down outside combat zones, as per Defense Ministry data. The previous Tuesday, the ministry reported the destruction of 202 UAVs beyond the front line.