Zaur Gurtsiev, a retired Russian commander who led airstrikes on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol died in a blast Thursday in Russia, authorities said.

Russian air defences destroyed or intercepted well over 100 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions, including a swarm of drones heading for Moscow, officials said early on Wednesday. The incidents were similar to waves of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and other cities last week.

Moscow’s dual campaign of intensified frontline attacks and bombardment of Ukrainian cities has further reduced the prospects for an end to the fighting.

KYIV — Russia and Ukraine will meet next Monday in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks if the Kremlin produces its promised memorandum of terms for an agreement. After the first round of direct talks on May 16 in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine agreed to prepare memorandums detailing their conditions for peace.

It hosted an initial round of peace talks in March 2022 - a month after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour - and again on May 16, the first direct meeting between Moscow and Kyiv in three years.