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       Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region on Saturday.Credit...Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters

       Before negotiations, Ukraine and Russia traded blows Ukraine mounted one of its broadest assaults of the war against air bases inside Russia yesterday, a coordinated drone operation that left aircraft smoldering in multiple regions, including as far away as Siberia.

       Kyiv also suffered a damaging blow when a Russian missile struck a Ukrainian military training base, killing at least 12 soldiers. Hours before that strike, Russia launched what Ukrainian officials said was the largest combined overnight aerial assault on the country since the start of the war.

       The fighting escalated even as delegations from Ukraine and Russia were expected to sit down for cease-fire negotiations today in Istanbul.

       Details: A Ukrainian security official said that Ukrainian officers had secretly transported drones on trucks into Russia and launched them from those vehicles. He said that dozens of aircraft had been damaged in the strikes.

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       Quotable: A Russian military blogger described the attack as a “black day for Russian long-range aviation.”

       Talks: During a previous round of talks in Istanbul, both sides agreed to share their peace terms. Since then, Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of stalling.

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