Ukrainian drones have been flying toward Russia noticeably less often since the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of planned strikes on Kiev. Military correspondent Alexander Sladkov linked the shift to Moscow’s new diplomatic approach.

Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier said that 59 Ukrainian UAVs had been shot down overnight above Russian regions.

Sladkov wrote on Telegram that the number of Ukrainian drones heading into Russia had fallen sharply, adding that Moscow’s new diplomatic tactic appeared to be working for now.

He also suggested that Russian forces may have moved to scheduled strikes on targets inside Ukraine.

Military correspondent Dmitry Steshin gave a similar assessment of Moscow’s actions. Commenting on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, he said Russia had switched to what he described as an «Iran mode» in its dealings with Ukraine. In Steshin’s view, the United States may have received advance information about Moscow’s plans, after which the moment came to move from warnings to action.

The day before, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russian troops planned to strike military-industrial facilities in Kiev and urged foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital as soon as possible. Later, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a conversation with U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, separately pointed to the recommendation to arrange the evacuation of diplomatic staff and other citizens from Kiev.

Russia said the move came in response to a Ukrainian drone attack on a college dormitory in Starobelsk on the night of May 22. There were 86 students inside the building at the time. The dormitory collapsed after the strike, killing 21 students and injuring 44 other people.