Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv to accelerate placement of anti-drone nets across frontline

<p>Defence minister says pace has already increased but more nets needed amid Russian attacks; Zelenskyy says Ukrainian delegation to meet Trump envoys. What we know on day 1,464</p><p><strong>Ukraine will speed up the placement of anti-drone nets over roads in frontline areas, aiming to cover 4,000km of roads by the end of this year, the defence minister has said</strong>. A growing number of nets have been installed over the past year but more were needed, Mykhailo Fedorov said, adding that an additional 1.6bn hryvnias ($37m) had been allocated from the budget to bolster protection measures and counter Russian drones. Moscow has been targeting military supply routes and rear bases deeper and deeper into Ukraine with the remotely piloted aircraft and drones have also struck hospitals, infrastructure and civilian traffic. Nets can snag propellers and prevent drones from reaching their targets. “In just one month, we increased the speed [of coverage] from 5km per day in January to 12km in February,” Fedorov said on Telegram on Wednesday. “This significantly improved the safety of military movements and ensured stable functioning of frontline communities. In March, we plan to close 20km of roads per day.”</p><p><strong>A Ukrainian delegation will meet</strong><strong> Donald Trump’s envoys on Thursday in the run-up to another round of trilateral talks with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said</strong>. Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, is due to hold talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva, the Ukrainian president told reporters on Wednesday. Thursday’s meeting will include addressing details of a possible postwar recovery plan for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, adding that he had also tasked Umerov with discussing a possible prisoner exchange. Ukraine expected the US-brokered talks with Russia to take place next week, Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, the Krem