In the overnight and into Thursday morning hours, Russia once again sent some 400 drones into Ukraine. The attack also included close to 20 ballistic and cruise missiles.

CNN and others, who have correspondents on the ground, have witnessed a 'new tactic' in the war. Russia sent drones on the Ukrainian capital "flying from all directions" - in yet another effective effort at confusing and breaking past anti-air defenses.

"Russia has been intensifying its aerial attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks, but the assault on Thursday appeared to mark a change in approach from Moscow," CNN notes, before adding:

They were flying at different altitudes, and attacking from all directions — with some of the drones initially bypassing the capital before abruptly changing direction and speeding back towards the city.

Still, Ukraine's military says it was able to shootdown or disable 382 of the 415 aerial weapons Russia launched overnight.

Local authorities said a 22-year-old female police officer was killed in these latest Russian attacks, along with one other person, and over a dozen more people were wounded.

"This is an obvious build-up of terror by Russia," President Zelensky said on Thursday, while issuing another plea for the United States and the Western allies to provide more air defense systems and missiles.

Clearly, the two warring sides are further away from direct peace negotiations than ever before. The US appears to have somewhat stepped back, content to let the war drag on, after President Trump has expressed deep frustration.

But Washington is still apparently working on the bilateral relationship with Moscow, as top diplomats from both sides held a "frank exchange" during talks in Malaysia on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' summit.

Reports say US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued a "new idea" on resolving the war to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.