UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy has called for “unity” between the United States and Europe to achieve “lasting peace”, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of his country.

“We must do our best to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. This is possible with the unity of all partners: we need the strength of the whole of Europe, the strength of America, the strength of all those who want lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

It comes after US President Donald Trump reached out to Russia and feuded with the Ukrainian leader this week, calling him a “dictator” and baselessly claiming that it was Ukraine that had started the war. 

Both men spoke for an hour-and-a-half by phone on 12 January. Since then, the first Russian-American talks have taken place in Saudi Arabia, with the Kremlin saying it wanted to resume dialogue with Washington “on all parameters”.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said that preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which could take place “within the next two weeks”. 

This morning, the Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 267 drones on Ukraine overnight, a “record” since the 24 February 2022 invasion.

Every day, our people stand against aerial terror. On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine — the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages. In total, nearly 1,150 attack… pic.twitter.com/YvCNuZorvX

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 23, 2025

Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat called the drones spotted in Ukrainian skies between Saturday and Sunday “a record for a single attack” since the war began nearly three years ago.

Among them, 138 were intercepted by air defence while 119 were “lost” without causing damage, he said in a post on Facebook.

He did not say what happened to the remaining ten, but a separate armed forces statement on Telegram said several regions, Kyiv included, had been “hit”.

A Russian missile attack late last night left one man dead and five more wounded in the central town of Kryvyi Rig, regional authorities said this morning.

To try to prevent daily Russian strikes, Ukraine has throughout the conflict sought to disrupt Russian logistics far from the front, notably by directly attacking military bases and industrial sites inside Russia itself.

Putin vows ‘unchanged’ determination

The Russian Defence Ministry meanwhile said that some 20 Ukrainian drones launched against Russia were “destroyed” overnight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday his soldiers in Ukraine are defending “national interests” and vowed “unchanged” determination to strengthen the country’s armed forces in a rapidly changing world.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Kremlin Wall, during the national celebrations of the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“Today, at the risk of their lives and with courage, they are resolutely defending their homeland, national interests and Russia’s future,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin on Russia’s Defenders of the Fatherland Day.

“We will continue to improve the combat capabilities of the army and navy, their combat readiness as an essential component of Russia’s security (and) guarantee of its present and future sovereignty,” he said.

Putin said that he wanted to give his armed forces “new, modern models” of weapons and equipment.

In November 2024, his troops fired a previously unknown experimental hypersonic missile called “Oreshnik” against Ukraine.

With reporting from © AFP 2025