On the eve of peace talks, Ukraine and Russia sharply stepped up the ongoing war with one of the biggest drone battles of the conflict and an ambitious attack carried out on nuclear-capable bombers deep in Siberia.

Since last sitting down with Ukraine to talk peace, Russia has launched four of its five largest drone attacks against the country, killed more than 340 of its civilians and continued to peddle its false narrative about the unprovoked war it has been waging for more than a decade.