Russia carried out its largest airstrike since the start of the war in Ukraine, launching nearly 500 drones and dozens of missiles overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The assault comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, which began in February 2022. Ukraine reported that Russia fired 477 drones and 60 ballistic and cruise missiles targeting southern, central and western regions of the country. One person was killed in a drone strike in the southern Kherson region and six others鈥攊ncluding a child鈥攚ere injured in the central Cherkasy region. In the western Lviv region, near the Polish border, a drone strike triggered a massive fire at a factory in the city of Drohobych, causing power outages across parts of the city. Poland and its NATO allies scrambled fighter jets as a precaution, though no violations of Polish airspace were reported. Ukraine鈥檚 military said it downed 211 drones and 37 missiles during the attack. An additional 225 drones were described as 鈥渓ost,鈥 a term used by Ukraine to refer to drones diverted by electronic warfare or those sent as decoys without explosive payloads. Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv Drone warfare has become a defining feature of the war, with both sides deploying increasingly advanced and lethal unmanned aerial vehicles. The fighting has turned into a testing ground for emerging weapons technology. Russia鈥檚 military also reported that it intercepted three Ukrainian drones overnight. Among the casualties was a Ukrainian pilot flying an F-16 fighter jet鈥攐ne of the Western-supplied aircraft Ukraine recently began deploying. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the pilot shot down seven aerial targets before his jet was damaged. 鈥淗e did everything he could but didn鈥檛 have time to eject,鈥 the statement said. This marks the third Ukrainian F-16 lost in combat. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was open to a new round of peace talks in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accusing Putin of prolonging the war despite international calls for peace. U.S.-led mediation efforts have so far failed to yield results. Russia, which controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory, continues its bombardment of cities and villages with no sign of de-escalation. Two previous rounds of negotiations in Istanbul ended quickly with no significant progress. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Telegram