Ukraine’s drone strike deep inside Russian territory left Kremlin officials angry and alarmed over the sudden vulnerability of a nuclear-capable air fleet far from the battlefield, according to people close to senior officials in Moscow.

The strikes help Kyiv "negotiate from a position of strength," Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey, center, speak to a member of staff during a visit to the BAE Systems’Govan facility, in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday June 2, 2025. (Andy Buchanan, Pool Photo via AP)

Dozens of Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russia, a Ukrainian official has said, the day before critical peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv resume in Istanbul.

A Ukrainian security source told BI that Kyiv struck at least 40 Russian aircraft on Sunday, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers.

Falling debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone hit an apartment block in southwest Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday.

Claims of Russian President Vladimir Putin's helicopter being "at the epicenter" of a Ukrainian drone attack in Kursk Oblast were reportedly fabricated by the Kremlin, the Moscow Times reported on May 30,