MOSCOW, March 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday said that 46 Ukrainian drones had been neutralised in overnight attacks on several regions that injured six people, according to local authorities.

The attacks came before Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump were due to hold talks on a potential ceasefire to the fighting in Ukraine, where Russian forces occupy swathes of its neighbour's territory.

The 46 drones were "destroyed or intercepted" over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk near the Ukraine border, as well as Orlov, the ministry said.

In the city of Belgorod, a man was seriously wounded by falling drone debris, the region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Five people were wounded in Kursk when drones struck near a truck transporting bread, interim governor Alexander Khinstein posted on Telegram.