NATO state Poland was today forced to scramble fighters due to intense Russian strikes on Ukraine hours before the start of peace talks in Geneva. The scale of the strikes indicates that Vladimir Putin has little interest in ending the war, despite sending a 20-strong negotiating team to Switzerland.

Russia deployed its hulking Tu-95MS strategic bombers to attack targets with cruise missiles. This came amid reports that frontline Western F-16 pilots – veterans from the US and the Netherlands – are for the first time actively defending the Ukrainian sky against Putin’s drones and missiles. An F-16 squadron of experienced NATO pilots was formed in strict secrecy and is currently patrolling the skies of Kyiv region under temporary contracts with the Ukrainian armed forces, according to the French publication Intelligence Online. They are reportedly using Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pods to hit incoming Russian drones.

In the west of Ukraine, near NATO territory, Putin missiles hit Ivano-Frankivsk region with explosions heard at Burshtyn, location of a key coal-fired power station. Stryi, a key rail and energy hub in Lviv region, close to the Polish border, also came under sustained attack, according to reports.

Among the cities hit were Volodymyr Zelensky’s birthplace Kryvyi Rih and the port of Odesa, currently under daily bombardment. Dramatic footage showed how Ukraine used Patriot to down two Russian hypersonic Tsirkon – or Zircon – missiles on the night of February 16.

Despite the scale of Russian strikes, Donald Trump once more put pressure on Mr Zelensky – rather than Putin – to make concessions ahead of the Geneva talks, which will involve US officials. Sounding impatient with Kyiv, the US president demanded: “Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you.”

Putin’s team – led by hardline Ukraine-hating historian and Kremlin official Vladimir Medinsky – was forced to make a circuitous nine-hour flight from Moscow to Geneva for the talks, due to Western restrictions on Russian aircraft. Italy opened its airspace so the team could reach Geneva.

Ukraine struck military targets in overnight attacks. A key oil refinery at Ilsky in the Krasnodar region was exploded in a strike by Ukrainian drones. The facility is a crucial supplier to Putin’s military forces in the war zone.

Key airports in southern Russia, including Krasnodar and Gelendzhik – where Putin owns a sprawling palace – were closed. Explosions also hit the city of Izhevsk, home of several big military-linked plants, including gun-maker Kalashnikov. School classes were suspended due to the incoming drones, which appeared to be attacking energy facilities.

Mr Zelensky’s forces were also accused of a long-distance strike hitting the Metafrax chemical plant in the Perm region, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest Ukrainian territory. The plant makes components for explosives and weapons used in the war.