Ukraine launches nearly 1,200 drones at Russia as US-led talks will
consider wider European security
[November 14, 2026]
By SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIROVA
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine fired almost 1,200 drones at Russian
targets overnight in one of its biggest aerial attacks since Moscow’s
full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Russian negotiators raised the stakes in talks to
stop the fighting by including for discussion wider European security
arrangements that have been in place since the end of the Cold War. That
change, long sought by Moscow, has alarmed European leaders and placed a
question mark on NATO’s future role.
“Russia wants to talk about questions of European security architecture.
We don’t need to talk about that. There is one,” German Chancellor
Friedrich Merz said, referring to NATO.
After two days of talks with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu
Dhabi this week, U.S. envoys briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin in
the Kremlin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in
Dublin, Ireland, to meet European leaders.
More talks are planned as negotiators seek a breakthrough in peace
efforts, according to U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
A team of diplomats from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland and
the European Union will be sent to the talks, said European Council
President Antonio Costa after a meeting in Dublin. The session was
dominated by European efforts to avoid being sidelined in the U.S.-led
negotiations.
Kushner, who is also President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, said Russia
had agreed to include Europe in upcoming talks, after Moscow's long
insistence that the continent’s governments should be excluded because
they supported Ukraine.
Europe’s presence at the table will allow negotiators “to address the
broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial
issues between Ukraine and Russia,” Kushner said on X.
European leaders remain wary of Russian moves
European leaders are wary of Russian maneuvering, as well as Trump’s
praise for Putin and his administration’s sharp criticism of Europe.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Europe must insist on a
ceasefire before taking the negotiations further — the opposite of what
Putin demands.
“If we start to talk about what Russia is asking regarding the security
architecture, we actually walk into the traps that Russia is setting
us,” she said in Dublin.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden insisted that Europe must take its
fate into its own hands. “We cannot let neither the Americans nor the
Russians decide about our future,” Frieden said.
Moscow is aiming “to dismantle NATO and the post-Cold War European
security architecture,” the Institute for the Study of War said in an
assessment Thursday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed that Russia is open for
contacts with the Europeans.
“Once we understand (Europe’s) true intentions and their readiness to
facilitate the peace process, then it will be possible to make a
decision on holding a dialogue regarding a settlement in Ukraine in an
expanded format,” he said.
Ukraine raises Starlink problems again
Zelenskyy on Friday repeated his complaints about drone speed limits on
the U.S. Starshield system — SpaceX’s military-grade version of the
Starlink satellite internet service — that Ukraine needs for its
defense.
The speed restrictions are limiting Ukrainian drones to 161 kph (100
mph) on the entire front line and in Russian-occupied territory, he
said, making it impossible for Kyiv to deploy its interceptors
effectively against Moscow's fast-moving jet-powered drones.
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Energy workers clear rubble from a production hall destroyed in a
Russian airstrike at a DTEK power plant in Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov.
11, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“We still have no clear explanations,” he said of the unannounced
restrictions, after first raising the issue on Thursday.
Ukrainian officials are asking the U.S. State Department, the
Pentagon and SpaceX to clarify and resolve the situation, he said.
Last month, similar SpaceX limits on Ukrainian drone speeds severely
disrupted operations, alarming officials in Kyiv who fear a drop in
U.S. support.
Elon Musk acknowledged in October that his company SpaceX had
throttled the Starlink internet service in Ukraine for about a week,
saying the system couldn’t be used for offensive strikes against
Russia.
Ukraine deploys drones and robots against Russia
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,198 Ukrainian
long-range drones between late Thursday and early Friday. However,
strikes on three Russian regions killed seven people, including a
12-year-old, and wounded 17, local officials said.
Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit an oil refinery in the Russian
city of Volgograd, starting a fire. The refinery has a capacity of
about 110 million barrels per year, it said.
The massive Ukrainian drone barrage appeared designed to show that
Kyiv is holding its own in the war, countering Moscow’s insistence
that a Russian victory is inevitable. Ukraine has repeatedly hit
Russian refineries, claiming last month it neutralized more than
half of Russia’s refining capacity.
Kyiv’s forces are using drones and ground robots to help defend
against Russia’s army along the about 1,200-kilometer (750-mile)
front line snaking down eastern and southeastern Ukraine.
With its troops largely bogged down on the battlefield, Moscow has
used strategic bombardment of civilian areas to hurt Ukraine.
Attacks bring power outages in 12 Ukrainian regions
Russia launched 117 drones against Ukraine overnight, killing at
least two people, including a 17-year-old, authorities said.
A single Russian attack Friday on southern Zaporizhzhia hit two
five-story apartment blocks and wounded 30 people, including six
children, officials said.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands
of civilians, analysts and humanitarian organizations say.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused widespread
power outages across about half of the country's regions Friday,
said First Deputy Minister of Energy Artem Nekrasov.
Moscow has battered Ukraine’s power grid each winter during the war,
hoping to weaken public morale.
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AP reporters Sam McNeil in Dublin, Susie Blann in Kyiv, Ukraine, and
Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed.
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