KYIV, Ukraine, July 9 (AP): Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest escalation amid mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine's northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck.
Lutsk is home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army. Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely fly over the city. No casualties were immediately reported, as emergency crews continued to assess the damage.
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.
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.
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.
It is unusual for Russia to target Western parts of Ukraine. Western military aid to the country, including air defense systems, ammunition, and spare parts, is typically delivered overland through Poland and other neighboring NATO countries. These supplies are received at logistics hubs and airfields in western Ukraine.
AFP adds: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend, state media reported, the latest in a series of high-profile visits by top Moscow officials as the two countries deepen military ties.
Lavrov "will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from July 11 to 13 at the invitation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry," the official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.
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