Russia fires hundreds of drones at Ukraine, defying Trump warning
Russian weapons pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure, officials said.
The latest bombardment in Russia's escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a Sept. 2 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it doesn't.
No date has yet been publicly set for a possible third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. Two previous rounds delivered no progress apart from prisoner swaps.
Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile, during the night, the Ukrainian air force said. The strikes targeted northeastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second-largest city, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Vinnytsia in the west and Odesa in the south.
"Russia does not change its strategy," Zelenskyy said. "To effectively counter this terror, we need a systemic strengthening of defense: more air defense, more interceptors, and more resolve so that Russia feels our response."
Trump on Monday pledged to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, including vital Patriot air defense systems, and threatened to slap additional sanctions on Russia. It was Trump's toughest stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin since he returned to the White House nearly six months ago.
But some U.S. lawmakers and European government officials expressed misgivings that the 50-day deadline handed Putin the opportunity to capture more Ukrainian territory before any settlement to end the fighting.
Other U.S. ultimatums to Putin in recent months have failed to persuade the Russian leader to stop his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war, many of them along the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, and Russian barrages of cities have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the United Nations says.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Tuesday that "Putin holds a theory of victory that posits that Russia can achieve its war aims by continuing to make creeping gains on the battlefield indefinitely and outlasting Western support for Ukraine and Ukraine's ability to defend itself."
Trump said the U.S. is providing additional weapons for Ukraine but European countries are paying for them. While Ukraine and European officials were relieved at the U.S. commitment after months of hesitation, some hoped Washington might shoulder some of the cost.
"We welcome President Trump's announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see the U.S. share the burden," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday. "If we pay for these weapons, it's our support."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
2 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Rubio demands Syrian government forces intervene to prevent jihadist attacks
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 July 2025, 12:06 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres" in the conflict-stricken south of the country. "If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria... they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent ISIS and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres," Rubio said in a statement posted to X, using another name for the Islamic State group (IS). Sectarian clashes between armed Bedouin forces and the Druze in the community's Sweida heartland had drawn in Syria's Islamist-led government, Israel and other armed tribes. U.S.-brokered negotiations have sought to avert further Israeli military intervention, with Syrian forces agreeing to withdraw from the region. "The U.S. has remained heavily involved over the last three days with Israel, Jordan and authorities in Damascus on the horrifying & dangerous developments in southern Syria," Rubio said. He called for the Syrian government to "hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks." "Furthermore the fighting between Druze and Bedouin groups inside the perimeter must also stop immediately," Rubio added. Once in control of large swathes of Syria, the IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by an international coalition. Violence between the Druze and Bedouin groups that began on July 13 has left an estimated 940 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. The count included 326 Druze fighters and 262 Druze civilians, 165 of whom were summarily executed, according to the Observatory. The monitor also included 312 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin in the toll.
Nahar Net
2 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israeli drones bomb 2 southern areas after strikes kill 2
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 July 2025, 12:27 Israeli drones at dawn targeted a building blocks factory between the towns of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras as well as the al-Mahafer area on Aitaroun's outskirts, causing no casualties, the National News Agency said The Health Ministry said Israeli strikes killed two people in south Lebanon on Saturday as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah operatives. The ministry said an "Israeli enemy drone strike" killed one person in the town of Khiam, while another raid hit a motorbike and killed another person in Yohmor al-Shaqeef, elsewhere in south Lebanon. The state-run National News Agency said the raid in Khiam killed a man who was repairing plumbing on the roof of a house. The Israeli military said it killed a member of Hezbollah's elite Radwan force "who was involved in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure sites" in the Khiam area, and another in Yohmor who was involved in similar activities. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. Under the truce, the militant group was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving Lebanon's army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic.
L'Orient-Le Jour
2 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Massive seizure of weapons bound for the Houthis off Yemen's coast
The information might seem trivial. However, the interception announced on July 16 of a massive shipment of military equipment off Yemen bound for the Houthis speaks volumes about the situation. The seized arsenal, which bears Iran's hallmark, is said to total 750 tons of equipment, ranging from anti-ship cruise missiles to components for anti-aircraft defense, as well as engines for Shahed one-way attack drones. This delivery underscores the close ties between the Islamic Republic and its Yemeni allies, despite the group's relative autonomy, as well as Tehran's strategy following the June war with Israel: its network of regional proxies remains at the core of its defense system. As usual, Tehran denied having sent weapons to the Houthis, who are seen as its main asset within the "Axis of Resistance" after Hezbollah and...
