At least six people were killed, with over 20 people wounded, into early Saturday as Russia continued to hammer Ukraine with hundreds of drones as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dampened hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than three-year-old war. 

“Twenty-six cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were launched, of which more than half were ‘Shaheds’,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, referring to Iranian-made drones.

“The pace of Russian air strikes requires swift decisions and it can be curbed right now through sanctions,” he said. Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, along with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 319 drones and 25 cruise missiles were shot down, and 258 decoy drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities.