&w=3840&q=100)
Russia could soon attack Ukraine with 2,000 drones at once, warns German general
Flames and smoke billow from buildings during mass Russian drones and missile strikes on the Ukraine's capital Kyiv on July 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: OLEKSII FILIPPOV/AFP)
As Vladimir Putin has ramped up the war on Ukraine, a German general has warned that Russia could soon attack with up to 2,000 drones at once.
For weeks, Russia has been attacking Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on a near-daily basis. It has ramped up attacks consistently and mounted the largest barrage with 741 drones and missiles on the night of July 8-9.
Russia is actively expanding its drone production capacity and could soon attack Ukraine with up to 2,000 drones at once, according to Major General Christian Freuding, the head of the Situation Center for Ukraine at Germany's Ministry of Defense.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
In an interview with the German military's 'Nachgefragt' programme, Freuding said that such mass deployment of drones could present a major challenge for Ukraine's air defence systems, which are not optimised for intercepting large volumes of low-cost drones simultaneously, according to a translation of his remarks.
From a high of around 500 drones and missiles on Ukraine in overnight attacks, Russia went to raining more than 700 drones and missiles in a matter of mere weeks, suggesting it has huge stockpile, well-oiled production capacity, and smooth supply chains.
Russia is not alone in its war efforts. China has not just kept the Russian economy afloat by making up for the loss of trade after the invasion of Ukraine but has also provided Russia with drones, machinery to make weapons, and dual-use goods used to make weapons. Iran has provided Russia with several thousands of drones and has also transferred the production know-how.
Russia is playing low cost-high effect game against Ukraine
Freuding flagged that the cost of launching these attacks is much less for Russia than the cost of tackling these attacks for Ukraine and its partners.
While an Iranian-origin Shahed drone costs €30,000 and €50,000, one Patriot interceptor missiles costs more than €5 million, according to Freuding.
The US-origin Patriot missile is the mainstay of Ukrainian air defence against Russian missiles and some high-end drones. Due to costs, Ukraine uses conventional anti-aircraft guns, interceptor drones, and electronic warfare to take down drones and reserves Patriot interceptors for largely taking down Russian missiles.
Freuding said that Ukraine needs cost-effective air-defence systems, ideally in the €2,000–€4,000 range per interception.
The development of such systems is essential to respond effectively to large-scale Russian drone attacks, said Freuding.
'Russia is trying to exhaust Ukraine's air defence supplies'
With such continuous attacks, Russia is trying to exhaust Ukraine's air defence supplies, according to Michael Kofman, an analyst focussed on the Russian war on Ukraine, who serves at a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
'They [Russians] target population centres because they're trying to exhaust Ukrainian air defence, and they know Ukrainian air defence will prioritise defending the cities and critical infrastructure,' Kofman told The Telegraph earlier this month.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
At the beginning of this month, Russia launched 537 drones and missiles over the weekend — the highest in the war until then. A few days later, Russia broke the record with 550 drones and missiles. Days later, Russia again broke the record with 741 drones and missiles.
Despite such attacks, US President Donald Trump has refused to take any punitive action against Putin, who has continued to refuse to make peace. Instead, he has given him a 50-day window to hit Ukraine with all that he has got.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
27 minutes ago
- NDTV
Tariffs And Ties: How Deep Is India's Dependence On Russia?
US President Donald Trump has described India and Russia as "dead economies" as he formally confirmed that Indian exports to United States will face a 25 per cent tariff along with a "penalty" for its trade with Moscow. The billionaire American leader said Washington does "very little business" with New Delhi, as the two sides hit an impasse over their trade negociations. "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. India US Trade The US has been India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. In the last fiscal, India's exports to the U.S. rose by 11.6 per cent to $86.51 billion as against $77.52 billion in 2023-24. The imports were up by 7.44 per cent in 2024-25 to $45.33 billion against $42.2 billion in 2023-24. The trade surplus with the US has touched $41.18 billion in the last fiscal from $35.32 billion in 2023-24. New Delhi and Washington have also built a strategic partnership on technology and defence, among other areas, anchored largely by their shared desire to contain the growth of China. Since April, India and US have been preparing to negotiate an agreement. Earlier this week, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts. We've always had very constructive discussions with them", however, he added that Delhi's trade policy focusses on "protecting their domestic market". Trump has been trying to secure deals that open other markets to the US, but India has fiercely protected its dairy and farm sector to protect the interests of its small farmers. India is still hoping to strike a deal with Washington soon, with Commerce minister Piyush Goyal saying that New Delhi remains "optimistic". India Russia Trade India has access to discounted Russian crude oil and the exports have sharply risen from 2 per cent before the Ukraine conflict to 40 per cent by June 2024. By this year, Moscow was supplying more oil to India than all West Asian sources combined. Apart from oil, India also maintains cooperation in the nuclear energy sector with Russia. With respect to India's military capabilities, Russia plays a big role. It is the principal arms supplier for India, providing fighter jets, submarines, missiles and tanks.
Deccan Herald
27 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
India mulls boosting US imports to placate Trump after shock 25% tariff
India is weighing options to placate the White House, including boosting US imports, and has ruled out immediate retaliation to President Donald Trump's surprise 25 per cent tariff threat, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials in New Delhi were shocked and disappointed by Trump's announcement on Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The government is keen to keep bilateral trade talks on track and is exploring ways to increase purchases from its largest trading partner, they said. India is considering ramping up its natural gas purchases from the US, and increase imports of communication equipment and gold, the people said. They added that boosting these purchases could help narrow India's trade surplus with the US over the next three to four years. No defense purchases are being planned, they in New Delhi are not considering any immediate retaliation to Trump's tariff threat, the people said. The government has already reserved its right at the World Trade Organization to retaliate against the higher US duties on steel and automobiles at a time of its Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal — who just days earlier voiced confidence in securing a trade deal with Washington — told Parliament on Thursday that the government is now engaging with exporters to assess the impact of Trump's tariffs. 'The implications of the recent developments are being examined,' Goyal said, as the opposition staged loud protests. He added that his ministry is collecting feedback from exporters and industry groups, and will take 'all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest.'.It remains unclear whether New Delhi's moves will soften Trump's stance. Although the US leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have shared friendly ties and until recently sounded optimistic about finalizing a trade deal, Trump on Wednesday criticized India for its high tariffs and described its trade barriers as 'strenuous and obnoxious.' He also threatened to impose penalties on India for purchasing Russian energy and weapons. .Trump's tariff shock puts Team Modi in a tight president later told reporters that Washington and New Delhi were still in talks and that a final decision on the tariff would be made by the end of the week. Just a few hours later, however, he posted on Truth Social, saying, 'I don't care what India does with Russia,' and referred to both nations as 'dead economies.'The US had a trade deficit with India of about $43 billion last year, the 11th largest and well below countries like Vietnam, which stood at about $121 billion, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. Trump earlier this month announced a tariff rate of 20% for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday blamed India for slowing trade negotiations, telling CNBC that the 'whole trade team has been frustrated' with New Delhi. He added that the next steps are now up to India, and criticized the South Asian nation for not being a 'great global actor,' citing its close ties with government said Wednesday it remains committed to a trade deal that's 'mutually beneficial' and highlighted the need to protect its farmers and small businesses. Both sides had already agreed to conclude a bilateral trade deal by the fall of this year, with officials in New Delhi saying earlier this week that negotiators from the US would be visiting the country to continue the are uncertain about how seriously to take Trump's remarks. 'Trump being Trump, we can't be sure,' said Abhijit Das, a New Delhi based international trade expert. 'This could be a negotiating ploy as he did something similar with the EU.' The US leader pressured the European Union into a trade deal by initially threatening 30% tariffs, then scaling them back to 15%.India's currency and stocks slid on Thursday, although the declines were relatively muted. The rupee fell as much as 0.4% to 87.7375 per dollar before recovering slightly to trade 0.2% lower at 10:50 a.m. local time. Meanwhile, the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index was down 0.5%, after having dropped as much as 0.9% earlier in the considering a boost in purchases of American goods, the Modi government is unlikely to buy additional defense equipments from the US, a key demand from Trump, officials familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are has informed the US that it's not keen to buy the F-35 stealth fighter jets, they said. During Modi's visit to the White House in February, Trump had offered to sell the expensive warplanes to India. However, the Modi government is more interested in a partnership focused on jointly designing and manufacturing defense equipments domestically, the officials Ministry of Defence in India didn't respond to a request for recent remarks risk further straining already fragile US-India ties. The US president has repeatedly said that his use of trade pressure helped secure a ceasefire that ended a four-day armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May — a claim strongly denied by Modi and senior officials in New in February, when relations between the two leaders were notably warm, Modi extended an invitation to Trump to visit India. New Delhi is expected to host a leaders summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad — which comprises the US, Japan, India and Australia — later this year. 'India is not in a position to promise huge import of energy from the US. Also, we are not in a position to talk about huge Indian investment taking place in the US,' said Ajay Dua, a former commerce ministry official, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, adding that the country now needs to be a 'little more accommodating in the ongoing negotiations.'
The Hindu
27 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Trump and team ‘frustrated' with India over trade talks, says U.S. Treasury Secretary
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday (July 31, 2025) said President Donald Trump and the whole trade negotiation team had been "frustrated" with India over the trade talks. His comments came a day after Mr. Trump announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment. Also read | Structural cracks emerge in the India-U.S. strategic partnership 'Well, I don't know what's going to happen. It will be up to India. India came to the table early. They've been slow rolling things. So I think that the President, the whole trade team, has been frustrated with them," Mr. Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. He also said India has been a large buyer of oil from Russia, which is facing sanctions, and reselling the crude as refined products. 'So, they [India] have not been a great global actor,' he added. Mr. Trump's surprise announcement on Wednesday is being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the U..S, which has, in recent days, got favourable trade deals with major partners such as Japan, the U.K. and the European Union. India has said it will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest and that the implications of the tariffs are being examined.
