Ukraine will send delegation to Istanbul for talks with Russia on Monday

Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, even as Russia pounded Ukraine with a missile strike that killed 12 soldiers and the biggest drone assault of the three-year war.

In a statement on Telegram, Mr Zelensky said that defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation.

“We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Mr Zelensky said.

Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place.

Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.

Russia launched the biggest number of drones on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion three years ago, Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday.

The air force said 472 drones were launched over Ukraine.

Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the Ukrainian air force.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine’s army said at least 12 Ukrainian service members were killed and more than 60 were injured in a Russian missile strike on an army training unit.

Meanwhile, Kyiv destroyed more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack deep in Russia, a Ukrainian security official said.

The official said the attack took more than a year and a half to execute and was personally supervised by Mr Zelensky.

The operation saw drones transported in containers carried by trucks deep into Russian territory, he said.

The drones reportedly hit 41 bombers stationed at several airfields, including the Belaya air base in the Russian region of Irkutsk, more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine.

It is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, local governor Igor Kobzev said.