Russia says four killed in major Ukraine drone barrage

Russia said on Friday (November 13, 2026) that it shot down nearly 1,200 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of the largest swarms sent by Kyiv that left at least four people dead.

The attack came a day after intense shuttle diplomacy in U.S.-led talks to end the war approaching its fifth year.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday (November 12) before jetting to Dublin to huddle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“In the course of the previous night… aerial defence systems intercepted and destroyed 1,198 Ukrainian drones over more than 15 Russian regions, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Four people working in an industrial zone, home to an oil refinery and a chemical factory, died in the southern Volgograd region, local authorities said.

On Thursday (November 12), Russia fired waves of explosive drones at the Ukrainian capital as Putin hosted the U.S. negotiators in Moscow, in attacks that left at least one person dead.

Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russia’s energy industry over the past 18 months, seeking to cut the Kremlin’s revenues and undermine its ability to finance the war Moscow launched in February 2022.

Ukraine says Russia is targeting its own energy grid with aerial barrages, leaving residents across the country without power as temperatures plunge ahead of winter.