Scale of Russia's long-range attacks on Ukraine eases in August despite major strikes

LONDON -- August saw an easing in the scale of Russia's long-range strike campaign on Ukraine, according to data published by Ukraine's air force and analyzed by ABC News, though Moscow continued to launch massed and deadly bombardments on Kyiv, other major cities and critical infrastructure targets. Over the course of August, Russia launched 4,216 air attack vehicles -- 4,060 attack or decoy drones and 156 missiles -- at a daily average rate of nearly 131 drones and five missiles, Ukraine's air force data showed. No night of August passed without a Russian attack, the Ukrainian government said. The reason for the apparent drop off in the overall intensity of the attacks is unclear. Moscow has shown no sign of abandoning its maximalist demands in the ongoing peace talks. Meanwhile, Ukraini