After Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian air bases, the two sides talked for less than an hour in Istanbul and a halt to the fighting seems out of reach for now.

Costing as little as $400 apiece, Kyiv’s flying machines are successfully neutralizing sophisticated Russian equipment worth thousands of times more

A day after Ukraine launched an unprecedented drone attack on airbases inside Russia, the warring sides sat down for a second round of direct talks in Turkey.

The strikes help Kyiv "negotiate from a position of strength," Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek.

Russian and Ukrainian delegates met in Istanbul on Monday for their second set of direct peace talks, a day after Kyiv launched a shock drone attack on Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers, in an operation that President Volodymyr Zelensky said was a year and a half in the making.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was sending a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for another face-to-face with Russian representatives.

This appears to be the first confirmation that one of the Sky Sentinels had downed up to six exploding drones. Ukraine previously said that the turret had been successfully tested, including on the front lines.

The drone strikes on Russian air force bases weaken Moscow’s ability to wage war on its neighbor and undermine its capacity to threaten more distant rivals.