The long-range Russian drones come in swarms each night, buzzing over Ukraine by the hundreds, terrorizing the population and attacking targets from the industrial east to areas near its western border with Poland.

Kyiv said the French fighter, one of six in its air force, was performing a flight mission but was not shot down by Russian fire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling over a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Trump has changed his mind about sending weapons to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end their ongoing war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Fox News on Tuesday that sanctioning Russian oil to end the Ukraine war is a "very real possibility."

"Ukraine protects the front line against Russian aggression for all of Europe," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on Monday.

Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months hours before Britain and Germany chaired a meeting Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams will again meet in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed, for the first such meeting since President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to be reached.