In short:
Russia says Ukraine has launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow since the outset of war between the two nations, killing multiple people, sparking fires, and closing airports.
The Russian defence ministry said 337 Ukrainian drones were downed in a single day, including 91 over Moscow and 126 in the Kursk region.
What's next?
Ukrainian officials are set to meet a team of Trump administration delegates in Saudi Arabia to seek grounds for possible peace talks and propose conditions of a potential ceasefire.
Ukraine has launched its biggest drone attack on the Russian capital, with at least 91 drones targeting Moscow, killing at least three people, sparking fires, closing airports and forcing dozens of flights to be diverted, according to Russian officials.
A total of 337 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia on Tuesday, including 91 over the Moscow region and 126 over the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been pulling back, the defence ministry said.
The massive dawn drone attack occurred as a team of Ukrainian officials prepare to meet a US team in Saudi Arabia to seek grounds for possible peace talks in the three-year-old war, and as Russian forces try to encircle thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the western Russian region of Kursk.
Regions near to Moscow have been hit by what Russian authorities say is the largest Ukrainian drone attack on the capital since the outset of the conflict. (Reuters: Governor of Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov / Telegram)
Other regions listed in the statement from the Russian defence ministry included Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh on the border with Ukraine and those deeper inside Russia, such as Kaluga, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol and Ryazan.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying toward it.
As rush hour built, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences were still repelling attacks on the city, which along with the surrounding region has a population of at least 21 million and is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe.
The Moscow governor released images showing the damage caused to apartment buildings. (Reuters: Governor of Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov / Telegram)
"The most massive attack of enemy UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) on Moscow has been repelled," Mr Sobyanin said in a post on Telegram.
Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said at least one person was killed and up to nine others injured, and he posted a picture of a wrecked apartment with its windows blown out.
Mr Vorobyov said some residents were forced to evacuate a multi-storey building in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region, about 50 kilometres south-east of the Kremlin.
Russian authorities later revised the death toll from the drone attacks up to three, with at least 18 others injured.
The attack on Moscow sparked fires at multiple buildings and suspended flights at closed airports. (Reuters: Stringer)
There was no sign of panic in Moscow, commuters went to work as normal in central Moscow.
Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said flights were suspended at all four of Moscow's airports to ensure air safety after the attacks. Two other airports, in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions — both east of Moscow — were also closed.
Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport later resumed flights, according to the aviation watchdog.
Zelenskyy arrives in Saudi Arabia ahead of Ukraine peace talks
Photo shows Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures as he talks to media
Though US President Donald Trump says he wants to deliver peace in Ukraine, the war is heating up on the battlefield with a major Russian spring offensive in Kursk and a series of Ukrainian drone attacks deep into Russia.
Russia has developed a myriad of electronic "umbrellas" over Moscow and over key installations, with additional advanced internal layers over strategic buildings, and a complex web of air defences to shoot down the drones before they reach the Kremlin in the heart of the capital.
Kyiv, itself the target of repeated mass drone strikes from Russian forces, has tried to strike back against its vastly larger eastern neighbour with repeated drone strikes against oil refineries, airfields and even Russian strategic early-warning radar stations.
Rubio 'won't set ceasefire conditions' in Ukraine peace talks
In the Saudi city of Jeddah, there was no immediate US response to the drone barrage as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his delegation — including national security adviser Mike Waltz — were preparing to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team.
Ukraine is expected to propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea and long-range missile strikes, as well as the release of prisoners, according to two senior Ukrainian officials.Â
The officials also said Kyiv was ready to sign an agreement with the United States on access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals — a deal that Mr Trump is keen to secure.
On his plane to Jeddah, Mr Rubio said the US delegation would not propose any specific measures to secure an end to the three-year conflict but rather it wanted to hear from Ukraine about what it would be willing to consider.
"I'm not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do," Mr Rubio told reporters accompanying him.Â
"I think we want to listen to see how far they're willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are."
Mr Rubio said the rare earths and critical minerals deal could be signed during the meeting but stressed it was not a precondition for the United States to move ahead with discussions with either Ukraine or the Russians.
He said it might make more sense to take some time to negotiate the precise details of the agreement, which is now a broad memorandum of understanding that leaves out many specifics.
The meeting will be the most senior engagement since a disastrous White House visit last month when Mr Trump berated Mr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
Since the US president's dressing down of Mr Zelenskyy, Washington has suspended military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery in a bid to force it to the negotiating table.
Russian forces advance against Ukrainian counter-offensive
The Kremlin also announced on Tuesday that its troops made major gains in the Russian region of Kursk, which has been partly occupied by Ukrainian forces since the start of a counter-offensive last year.
Ukrainian troops seized at least 1,300 square kilometres of the Kursk region in August, bursting across the border in one of the biggest surprises of the war. In late October, North Korean troops began arriving to fight alongside Russian forces.
The defence ministry said Russia had recaptured a dozen settlements and more than 100 sq km of territory in its latest thrust, which follows a sharp worsening of Ukraine's position in the past few days.
Ukraine has held a small portion of Russian territory since launching a counter-offensive in August last year. (Reuters: Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
Yuri Podolyaka, a pro-Moscow military blogger whose Telegram channel has more than 3 million followers, reported that Russian forces had taken control of the outskirts of the town of Sudzha, near the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian troops were pulling back into their own territory.
Losing its hard-won foothold in Kursk would deal a major blow to Ukraine at a critical moment, as President Trump piles heavy pressure on Kyiv to agree to end the war quickly.
Ukraine's top general Oleksandr Syrskyi on Monday denied that Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk were at risk of encirclement.Â
He said the situation was under control, but indicated that Ukrainian forces have been pulling back.
"The units are taking timely measures to manoeuvre to advantageous positions for defence," he said.
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