ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Russia is planning to expand control stations for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) in “occupied areas” of the country plus four stations in neighboring Belarus.

“We will respond accordingly,” he wrote on US social media platform X.

Citing a report by Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko, Zelenskyy also underlined that Russia constantly seeks to exaggerate its achievements on the front line and use “inflated data” in the negotiation process.

Russia and Ukraine have had several rounds of US-mediated peace talks this year. The process was interrupted by the crisis in the Middle East.