Key developments on July 19-20:
Ukraine proposes peace talks with Russia next week, Zelensky saysFire, flight diversions reported near Moscow as Ukraine launches drone attack on Russia’s capitalRussia aims to launch 2,000 drones towards Ukraine at once, German general says’Our goals are clear’ — Kremlin unwilling to compromise on demands ahead of proposed 3rd round of peace talks
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 19 that Ukraine has proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia for next week.
In his nightly address, Zelensky said that Rustem Umerov — recently appointed National Security and Defense Council Secretary — offered the Russian side a meeting, emphasizing that Ukraine is prepared for talks at the leadership level.
“Dialogue with the Russian side on prisoner exchanges is ongoing – we are continuing to implement the agreements reached during the earlier meeting in Istanbul,” Zelensky said. “Our team is currently working on another exchange.”
Zelensky also stressed the need to increase the pace of negotiations, calling for urgent steps to achieve a ceasefire.
“Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings. And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure peace – a really lasting one.” Zelensky said. “Ukraine is ready for such a meeting.”
Zelensky’s announcement comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan reportedly discussed resuming Ukraine-Russian peace talks in Istanbul.
Ukraine and Russia held two rounds of bilateral peace talks earlier this year in Istanbul, first on May 16 and again on June 2 — after more than three years without direct negotiations. The meetings resulted in significant prisoner exchanges, but no significant steps toward a ceasefire.
Fire, flight diversions reported near Moscow as Ukraine launches drone attack on Russia’s capital
A fire broke out in Moscow Oblast overnight on July 20 as Ukraine reportedly launched a drone attack targeting the Russian capital, local Telegram channels reported.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that at least 21 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow since 6 p.m. local time on July 19. Sobyanin added that emergency crews were heading to the scene of the downed drones, without mentioning the extent of the damage caused.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses shot down 93 Ukrainian drones, including 19 over Moscow Oblast and another 16 en route to the region. Later in the day on July 20, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed an additional eight drones were downed shot down over Moscow Oblast in the daytime, five of which were allegedly en route to Moscow.
Russian Telegram channels reported, citing resident accounts, that a fire broke out in the city of Zelenograd, a satellite city 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of central Moscow.
Videos posted on social media appear to show vehicles burning near a residential building. No information was available on any casualties or the extent of the damage caused.
In a security camera videos shared by Russian Telegram channel Baza, drone debris also appears to strike the top floors of a residential building in Zelenograd.
Temporary restrictions were imposed at all four Moscow airports amid the ongoing attacks, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) reported. Arriving flights were being diverted to Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg amid the attack. All flight restrictions were lifted around 4 a.m. local time.
A purported video of a vehicle fire in Moscow Oblast overnight on July 20, amid a Ukrainian drone attack on the region. (SHOT/Telegram)
After months of increased attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, by Russian drones, Ukraine’s military appears to have intensified its own efforts in targeting Russia’s capital.
The overnight attacks marks the fourth straight night that the Russian capital has come under fire. The region faced a similar attack the night prior as Ukraine’s military reportedly launched 13 drones towards Moscow.
Kyiv rarely comments on reports of drone strikes in Russia, though Ukraine regularly launches attacks against military and industrial facilities on Russian territory.
The reported strikes on Moscow come after U.S. President Donald Trump offered the Kremlin 50 days to make a peace deal or face “severe tariffs” from Washington. Before the announcement, Trump reportedly asked Zelensky during a June phone call if Ukraine was capable of attacking Moscow.
Zelensky allegedly replied that such an attack would be possible if the U.S. supplied the necessary weapons.
After the Financial Times (FT) reported the comments, Trump told the press that Zelensky should not target Moscow and that the U.S. was not planning to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles.
Russia aims to launch 2,000 drones towards Ukraine at once, German general says
Russia aims to be able to launch 2,000 drones towards Ukraine simultaneously, German Major General Christian Freuding said in an interview published on July 19.
The staggering figure described by Freuding, who heads the Ukraine task force at the German Defense Ministry, comes as Russia continues to expand its drone production.
Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) told Politico in June that the Kremlin plans to produce 2 million first-person-view (FPV) drones and 30,000 long-range and decoy drones in 2025, marking a critical expansion of Moscow’s drone warfare program.
Between Sept. 13, 2022, and Aug. 30, 2023, Russian forces fired nearly 2,000 Shaheds into Ukraine, according to Airwars, a London-based conflict monitoring organization. That number has surged in 2025 — in June alone, Moscow launched a record 5,337 Shahed-type drones.
Freuding’s comments come as Russia has continued to ramp up its Iranian-designed Shahed drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, including strikes on Ukraine’s far-western regions. On July 9, Russia launched a record 728 Shahed-type drones and decoys across the country.
Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces warned on July 4 that Russian Shahed drone strikes could escalate to 1,000 per day.
Amid the increased risk of intensified Russian attacks, Freuding told the Bundeswehr podcast Nachgefragt, that Ukraine can indirectly counter anticipated drones attacks by targeting production sites with long-range missiles.
Ukraine regularly strikes military production facilities on Russian territory, but has called upon Western allies to supply more long-range weaponry for added capabilities.
Freuding announced earlier this month that Ukraine will begin receiving hundreds of domestically produced long-range weapon systems by the end of July under a German-financed agreement. The announcement came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s agreement with NATO to supply additional weapons to Ukraine.
This is what Ukraine could hit in Russia with US Tomahawk missiles
The weapons for Ukraine rumor mill went into overdrive earlier this week when it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was considering supplying Kyiv with Tomahawk cruise missiles. A day later, things reached fever pitch with reports Trump had asked President Volodymyr Zelensky if Ukraine could strike key Russian cities if provided with long-range U.S. weapons. The White House, while not denying the conversation took place, swiftly moved to shut down speculations, with Press Secretary
‘Our goals are clear’ — Kremlin unwilling to compromise on demands ahead of proposed 3rd round of peace talks
Moscow appears unwilling to shift from its maximalist demands in ending its war with Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains focused on achieving his goals on the battlefield, a Kremlin spokesperson said on July 20.
“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a Russian-state media reporter.
“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” Peskov added.
The remarks reflect Moscow’s growing list of maximalist demands presented in its so-called “peace memorandum” during recent negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2.
The document calls for Ukraine to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and four partially occupied regions — Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk — and demands full Ukrainian troop withdrawal and demobilization. The Kremlin has also insisted that Ukraine dismantle and destroy all Western-supplied weapons as part of any ceasefire deal.
Zelensky announced on July 19 that Ukraine has proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia for next week. The proposed talks, which will likely focus predominantly on prisoner exchanges, come as Russia has continued to reject a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Russia has not yet agreed to a third round of peace talks, but has signalled that talks may resume in Istanbul in the near future,
Russia’s refusal to hold credible peace talks has angered U.S. President Donald Trump in recent weeks.
After months of stalled progress, Trump appeared to significantly shift his policy towards arming Kyiv by announcing on July 14 that he will send weaponry and Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine through NATO. Trump also threatened Moscow with 100% tariffs unless a deal on ending the war is achieved within 50 days.
Despite Trump’s tariff threats, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters on July 15 that Putin remains determined to continue the war against Ukraine until the West agrees to peace on his terms.
‘Russia is weaponizing deportation’ — Ukraine evacuates 43 deportees from Russia-Georgia border
Instead of being brought to the Ukrainian border, 56 Ukrainian deportees were taken to a basement facility in Georgia where they were being held in a transit zone, aid group Volunteers Tbilisi reported.
