Russia launched 728 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as 13 missiles, at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Wednesday.“The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units and drone systems, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces,” the air force said in a statement posted on messaging app Telegram.
The record-breaking assault marks the latest escalation in aerial attacks by Moscow’s forces in recent weeks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the northwestern city of Lutsk near the Polish and Belarusian borders was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck.
“The main strike targeted Lutsk. Damage has also been reported in the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions.”
Lutsk is home to airfields used by Ukraine’s forces, with Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely flying over the city.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 296 drones and seven missiles, while 415 more drones were lost from radars or jammed, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
Zelenskyy added that the attack was telling, coming at a time when so many efforts had been made to achieve peace and initiate a cease-fire, only for Russia to persist in rebuffing 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,” he said
“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. Everyone who wants peace must act.”
Ukraine Attacked Kursk Beach, Hospital: Moscow
Moscow made no statement on the overnight barrage against Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that three people had been killed and seven wounded in a Ukrainian attack on a beach in the city of Kursk on Tuesday. Another two people were injured in a drone attack “on the central district hospital, an ambulance service building and the administrative building of an agricultural company,” according to state-owned news agency TASS.
The ministry added that its air defenses shot down 86 Ukrainian drones over various regions during the night.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued sharp criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Cabinet meeting in Washington.
Trump also said he was considering supporting a bill sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, including 500 percent tariffs on countries still buying Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other exports.
The Kremlin has, so far, not issued a response to Trump’s remarks about Putin.
“Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”
