KYIV, Ukraine, March 15, (AP): Russia and Ukraine traded heavy aerial blows overnight Saturday, with both sides reporting more than 100 enemy drones over their respective territories. The attack comes less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, Volgograd regional Gov Andrei Bocharov confirmed that falling drone debris had sparked a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city close to a Lukoil oil refinery, but provided no further details.

Nearby airports temporarily halted flights, local media outlets reported. No casualties were reported. The Volgograd refinery has been targeted by Kyiv’s forces on several occasions since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, most recently in a drone attack on Feb 15. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones, 64 of which were destroyed over the Volgograd region.

Drones were also shot down over the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov and Kursk regions, officials said. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched a barrage of 178 drones and two ballistic missiles over the country overnight. The barrage was a mixture of Shahed-type attack drones and imitation drones designed to confuse air defenses.

Some 130 drones were shot down, while 38 more were lost en route to their targets. Russia attacked energy facilities, causing significant damage, said Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK. Russia struck energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, DTEK said in a statement on Saturday. Some residents were left without electricity. "The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,” the energy firm said.