Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine in a single day, in addition to 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force stated Wednesday (July 9, 2025), within the newest escalation amid mounting Russian aerial and floor assaults within the greater than three-year warfare.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated town of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest alongside the border with Poland and Belarus, was the toughest hit, although 10 different areas had been additionally struck.
Lutsk is house to airfields utilized by the Ukrainian military. Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely fly over town. No casualties had been instantly reported, as emergency crews continued to evaluate the injury.
Russia has just lately sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses by launching large aerial assaults, together with including extra decoy drones to its assaults. Russia launched its earlier largest aerial assault late within the night time of July 4 into the next day, with the most important previous to that occurring lower than a week earlier.
Russia’s greater Army has additionally launched a new drive to punch by elements of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) entrance line.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated Tuesday that he’s “not happy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hasn’t budged from his ceasefire and peace calls for since Trump took workplace in January and started to push for a settlement.
Mr. Trump stated Monday that the U.S. must ship extra weapons to Ukraine, simply days after Washington paused vital weapons deliveries to Kyiv amid uncertainty over the U.S. administration’s dedication to Ukraine’s protection.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 296 drones and seven missiles in a single day, whereas 415 extra drones had been misplaced from radars or jammed, an air force assertion stated.
Ukrainian interceptor drones, developed to counter Russia’s Shahed drones, are more and more efficient, Zelenskyy stated, noting that almost all targets had been intercepted and that home manufacturing of anti-aircraft drones is being scaled up.
It is uncommon for Russia to focus on Western elements of Ukraine. Western army help to the nation, together with air protection programs, ammunition, and spare elements, is usually delivered overland by Poland and different neighboring NATO international locations. These provides are obtained at logistics hubs and airfields in western Ukraine.
From there, Ukrainian forces transport the tools to the entrance strains or strategic websites throughout the nation. The relative security of western areas has made them a essential logistical spine for sustaining Ukraine’s protection, although current long-range assaults by Russia have more and more sought to disrupt these corridors.
