Islamabad (Monitoring-Desk) Russia launched its most extensive drone assault yet on Ukraine overnight, firing more than 700 attack and decoy drones in a single barrage, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. It marks the third time in two weeks that Moscow has broken its own record for the largest nightly drone attack since the war began three years ago.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia’s tactic of saturating Ukraine’s air defenses with growing numbers of decoy drones appears aimed at weakening Kyiv’s ability to protect vital Western weapons shipments. The city of Lutsk in western Ukraine, near the Polish border and home to key military airfields, suffered the heaviest strikes. Zelenskyy said Moscow was “making a point” with these attacks, especially at a time when the supply of critical American arms is uncertain and U.S.-led peace initiatives remain stalled.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces targeted Ukrainian air bases, claiming “all designated targets were hit.” In response, Ukraine launched its own drone attacks into Russia, killing three people in the Kursk border region, including a five-year-old boy, local officials reported.
Ukraine’s air force said it managed to shoot down 296 drones and seven missiles overnight, while another 415 drones were either lost from Russian radar or jammed. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine’s domestically produced interceptor drones, designed to counter Russia’s Shahed drones, are proving increasingly effective. He added that local drone production is ramping up in collaboration with Western partners.
Meanwhile, Russia’s military continues to press along the 1,000-kilometer front line, testing Ukrainian defenses already stretched thin. Western analysts warn that Russia is expanding its drone manufacturing and could soon be capable of launching up to 1,000 drones a night. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War highlighted Russia’s growing reliance on drones for frontline combat and large-scale strikes deep into Ukraine.
Poland, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, scrambled fighter jets and placed its forces on high alert in response to the barrage, according to its Armed Forces Operational Command.
In Washington, President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who remains firm on his ceasefire demands despite renewed American diplomatic efforts. Trump acknowledged on Monday that the U.S. might need to send more weapons to Ukraine, even after temporarily pausing shipments. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described Trump’s rhetoric as “quite tough” but said Moscow hopes to continue dialogue with Washington to repair strained ties.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, called for tougher sanctions on Russian oil and those funding Moscow’s war through purchases. During a visit to Italy, he met with Pope Leo XIV ahead of an international summit on rebuilding Ukraine.
On the legal front, Europe’s top human rights court ruled that Russia violated international law during its war in Ukraine. It also held Moscow responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, the first such international court ruling linking Russia directly to the tragedy that killed 298 people.
As Russia’s overnight assault also hit 10 Ukrainian regions, casualties mounted: one person died in Khmelnytskyi and two were injured near Kyiv. In Russia, officials said Ukrainian drones struck six regions, forcing temporary flight suspensions at Moscow-area airports. In Kursk, three people were killed and seven wounded when a drone hit the regional capital just before midnight.
