Russia's response to Ukrainian drone attack on bombers muted as warring nations hold direct talks

Ukraine's shock drone attack on Russian military air bases, including some deep inside Russian territory, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was secretly planned and coordinated from inside Russia over the past 18 months, seemed on Monday to have left the Kremlin speechless. 

Russia's state-run media cited the country's defense ministry as saying Monday that forces had struck Ukrainian drone production, launch and storage sites, and claiming to have shot down hundreds of Ukrainian-launched drones over the past 24 hours, but there was no direct public response from Russian authorities to the Ukrainian strike.

While Ukraine has launched drones at Russia, including the capital Moscow, for months, as well as staging other covert operations on Russian soil, the attack on Sunday was notable for its scope and scale. Ukraine claimed it had damaged or destroyed 41 Russian bomber aircraft at bases across the vast country. Ukrainian officials said the attack did not endanger any Russian civilians.