NATO jets were scrambled overnight as Russia carried out its largest drone attack yet on Ukraine, launching more than 700 drones, officials said.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced a “new massive Russian attack on our cities,” reporting the use of “728 drones of various types, including over 300 Shaheds, and 13 missiles – specifically Kinzhals and Iskanders.”
“A majority of these targets were intercepted. We deployed our interceptor drones, which succeeded in taking down dozens of enemy assets, and we are expanding this technology. Additionally, mobile fire teams were active, bringing down numerous targets as well. I extend my gratitude to all our fighters for their accuracy,” he stated.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, the offensive predominantly focused on the northwestern city of Lutsk, and preliminary reports indicate that “air defenses neutralized 718 enemy air attack units, with 303 shot down by fire and 415 failing in location.”
Polish servicemen present F-16 fighter jets in Warsaw, Poland during a military parade on Polish Army Day on Aug. 15, 2024. The parade was to celebrate Poland’s Armed Forces Day, and its 25th year as a member of NATO. (Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Zelenskyy said damage was reported in the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions.
“This is a telling attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all. This is yet another proof of the need for sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Russian soldiers fire from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
“Secondary sanctions on those who buy this oil and thereby sponsor killings. Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes,” he also said. “Everyone who wants peace must act.”
