Russian air defences intercepted a major Ukrainian drone attack ahead of new Geneva peace talks, with one child reported wounded in Crimea.

MOSCOW: Russian air defence forces destroyed more than 150 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country’s defence ministry reported to state media on Tuesday.

The attack came as Kyiv steps up its counterattacks ahead of another round of diplomatic negotiations in Geneva backed by the United States.

The ministry stated that the drones were intercepted over Russian regions and the Black and Azov Seas.

In the Russian-annexed Crimea, Sevastopol’s governor described a prolonged assault.

Mikhail Razvozhayev said two dozen drones were shot down during “one of the longest attacks in recent times”.

He posted on Telegram that there were injuries, adding “according to preliminary information, one child was wounded”.

The new talks follow two previous rounds of White House-mediated negotiations that yielded no breakthroughs.

Kyiv has recently made battlefield advances despite Russia occupying around one-fifth of Ukraine.

An AFP analysis of data shows Ukrainian forces recaptured 201 square kilometres between last Wednesday and Sunday.

 The Sun Malaysia