KYIV – Russia launched an unprecedented 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, in addition to 13 missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force on Wednesday. This marks the latest escalation in the conflict as Russian aerial and ground attacks intensify in the ongoing war of over three years.
The city of Lutsk, situated in Ukraine’s northwest near the borders with Poland and Belarus, faced the brunt of the attack, though 10 other regions were also targeted, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Lutsk hosts airfields used by the Ukrainian military, where cargo planes and fighter jets frequently operate. No casualties have been reported so far, as emergency teams continue to evaluate the extent of the damage.
Western regions of Ukraine are a crucial logistical backbone in the war, as airfields and depots there receive vital foreign military aid before forwarding it to other parts of the country. Russian long-range attacks have increasingly sought to disrupt those supply corridors.
Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses by launching massive aerial assaults, including adding more decoy drones to its attacks. Russia launched its previous largest aerial assault late in the night of July 4 into the following day, with the biggest prior to that occurring less than a week earlier.
Russia’s bigger army has also launched a new drive to punch through parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where short-handed Ukrainian forces are under heavy strain.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s “not happy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hasn’t budged from his ceasefire and peace demands since Trump took office in January and began to push for a settlement.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. would have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after Washington paused critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv amid uncertainty over the U.S. administration’s commitment to Ukraine’s defense.
Zelenskyy said that the Kremlin was “making a point” with the attack, as U.S.-led peace efforts flounder. He urged Ukraine’s partners to impose stricter sanctions on Russian oil and those who help finance the Kremlin’s war by buying it.
“Everyone who wants peace must act,” Zelenskyy said.
Poland scrambled its fighter jets and put its armed forces on the highest level of alert in response to Russia’s attack, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command wrote in an X post.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned Tuesday that Russia could pose a credible security threat to the European Union by the end of the decade. She called for defense industries in Europe and Ukraine to be ramped up within five years.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 296 drones and seven missiles overnight, while 415 more drones were lost from radars or jammed, an air force statement said.
Ukrainian interceptor drones, developed to counter Russia’s Shahed drones, are increasingly effective, Zelenskyy said, noting that most targets were intercepted and that domestic production of anti-aircraft drones is being scaled up.
Western military analysts say Russia is boosting its drone manufacturing and could soon be capable of launching 1,000 drones a night at Ukraine.
___
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
