
Ukraine says Russia launched 479 drones in war's biggest overnight bombardment
Apart from drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine.
Ukraine's air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight, an air force statement said, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target.
Officials said one person was injured.
It was not possible to independently verify the claim.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in some areas 'the situation is very difficult' (Markus Schreiber/AP)
A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and north-eastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult'. He provided no details.
Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on.
Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops.
Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark.
Russia has relentlessly battered civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the more than three-year war. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.
Russia says it targets only military targets.
Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia.
Journalists gather near the motorcade of refrigerators of the first convoy carrying bodies of Ukrainian soldiers for repatriation at an exchange area near Novaya Guta, Belarus (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)
Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions.
Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometres east of Moscow, local officials reported.
Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire.
The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region located some 650 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The statement did not say how the planes were struck.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Trump speech at Fort Bragg prompts new questions, concerns about politicization of military
WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials say troops who cheered and jeered Tuesday at President Donald Trump's political statements at a rally at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, did not violate military regulations, but a former military legal officer said they did just that. During the speech, uniformed soldiers yelled in support of Trump's political statements and booed former President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'Do you think this crowd would have showed up for Biden? I don't think so,' Trump said to boos about Biden. Trump made other comments about Newsom and about Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, where protests against the administration's crackdown on immigrants have been taking place and where Trump has ordered thousands of National Guard members and active-duty Marines deployed in response. Other Trump comments about the 'fake news media,' transgender people, protesters in California and flag-burning also drew boos from the uniformed military members in attendance. Trump is known for his rallies at which he goes after and pokes fun at political enemies and other issues, but typically he makes those remarks at political events, not on U.S. military bases. Such overt political activity on a base is the prerogative of the commander in chief. But military leaders would typically frown upon troops' reacting the way they did as inconsistent with military good order and discipline, and, according to one expert, it is a violation of military regulations found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ. Presidents of both parties often use troops as political props and put them and their commanders in difficult positions by doing so, but Trump's speech took that to a new level, said Geoffrey DeWeese, a retired judge advocate general who is now an attorney with Mark S. Zaid PC. (Zaid has represented whistleblowers on both sides of the aisle, including one who filed a complaint about Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019 that led to Trump's impeachment, and he was one of the people whose security clearances Trump revoked this year.) 'It's a sad tradition to use the military as a backdrop for political purposes,' DeWeese said. 'To actively attack another president or a sitting governor and incite the crowd to boo, that's a step in a dangerous direction, that really says we want to politicize the military, that sends a bad message.' DeWeese said there were likely to have been violations of the UCMJ. 'I would be cringing if I was a senior officer and it happened under my watch,' he said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said repeatedly that he wants to take politics out of the military by removing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and banning service by transgender service members. Kori Schake, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who worked at the State Department and the National Security Council under former President George W. Bush and at the Pentagon under former President George H.W. Bush, said in an email that commanders at Fort Bragg should have done a better job preparing troops there. 'It's terrible,' she wrote. 'It's predictably bad behavior by the President to try and score political points in a military setting, and it's a command failure by leaders at Ft Bragg not to prepare soldiers for that bad behavior and counsel them not to participate.' The Pentagon said in a statement that there had been no violation of the UCMJ and suggested the media was against policies that Trump has championed. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also alleged in a statement that the media 'cheered on the Biden administration' and its policies regarding the Defense Department 'when they forced drag queen performances on military bases, promoted service members on the basis of race and sex in violation of federal law, and fired troops who refused an experimental vaccine.' 'Believe me, no one needs to be encouraged to boo the media,' Parnell said. 'Look no further than this query, which is nothing more than a disgraceful attempt to ruin the lives of young soldiers.' On Wednesday, Army officials at Fort Bragg addressed the sale of some MAGA merchandise at the event, which was planned in cooperation with a nonpartisan organization, American 250. 'The Army remains committed to its core values and apolitical service to the nation,' Col. Mary Ricks, a spokeswoman for the Army's 18th Airborne Corps at Bragg, said in a statement. 'The Army does not endorse political merchandise or the views it represents. The vendor's presence is under review to determine how it was permitted and to prevent similar circumstances in the future.' The Army's own new field manual, published recently, says the apolitical nature of being a U.S. soldier is what contributes to the public trust. The Army 'as an institution must be nonpartisan and appear so, too,' says the new field manual, 'The Army: A Primer to Our Profession of Arms.' 'Being nonpartisan means not favoring any specific political party or group. Nonpartisanship assures the public that our Army will always serve the Constitution and our people loyally and responsively.' U.S. troops can participate in political functions, just not while on duty or in uniform, the book says. 'As a private citizen you are encouraged to participate in our democratic process, but as a soldier you must be mindful of how your actions may affect the reputation and perceived trustworthiness of our Army as an institution,' it says.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: severely wounded soldiers next in prisoner exchanges
Russia and Ukraine are expected to exchange severely wounded soldiers on Thursday in the latest stage of a large-scale agreement to free more than 1,000 prisoners of war by each side. 'Tomorrow, we will begin urgent 'sanitary exchanges' of severely wounded prisoners,' Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, posted. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian government agency announced that 'the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine'. Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Russia had 'received the remains of 27 Russian soldiers'. Ukraine did not say how many bodies it returned to Russia. Among the bodies returned on Wednesday were the remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting in the Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Kyiv said, as well as those killed during Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine said its experts 'will identify the deceased as soon as possible'. The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had struck a major Russian gunpowder plant in the western Tambov region, causing a fire. It characterised the plant as one of the main facilities in Russia's military industrial complex, making gunpowder for small arms, artillery and rocket systems. The Tambov regional governor, Yevgeny Pervyshov, confirmed an attack by drones and a fire. The Ukrainian military also said it recorded explosions at an ammunition depot in Russia's Kursk region and an airfield depot in Russia's Voronezh region. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia was determined to sow chaos in and destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, and called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats. The Ukrainian president was addressing leaders of 12 south-east European leaders gathered in the Black Sea port of Odesa. 'Russian military plans are aimed at this region, and then at the borders with Moldova and Romania,' Zelenskyy said. 'We need protection now. But even more, we need long-term guarantees that this will never happen again.' Odesa, site of three ports, has been a frequent target of Russian air strikes and came under a massive drone attack on Monday that targeted an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings. Much attention has focused on a possible Russian threat to Moldova, where the pro-European president, Maia Sandu, has accused Moscow of trying to destabilise her country and unseat her. Elections are being held in September. Sandu told the conference that Moldova 'knows just what hybrid war is and is prepared to share its experience. Moldova is facing one of its most important elections. Russia wants to see Moldova turn away from Ukraine. More to the point, it wants to use Moldova against Ukraine and the EU.' Serbia's Russia-friendly president, Aleksandar Vucic, attended the Odesa summit where he refused to sign a joint declaration calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow. It was Vucic's first visit to Ukraine since taking office over a decade ago. Vucic told Serbian media on Wednesday that the signing of the 'anti-Russian' declaration wasn't 'easy and simple for us', noting its mention of sanctions as one reason for abstaining. 'But I would like to once again express my full gratitude to President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy for the exceptional hospitality here in Odessa,' Vucic said. Aircraft leasing companies have won a $4.7bn (£3.4bn) lawsuit against insurers over their planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Lisa O'Carroll reports that the high court in London ruled the planes had been 'lost' in March 2022 and the six aircraft leasing companies, including Ireland's AerCap and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), could therefore recover losses from their 'war risks insurers' AIG, Lloyd's, Chubb and Swiss Re, as the cause of the loss was 'an act or order of the Russian government'. Restoration work started on Wednesday on Kyiv's Unesco-listed 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral – one of the main symbols of Ukraine – after it was damaged by Russian strikes a day earlier. Zelenskyy said part of the cathedral's facade collapsed. 'For all people who truly know history and who are no strangers to Christianity, any threat of damage or destruction to St Sophia is absolutely unacceptable, catastrophic.' Russia sent Tu-22M3 long-range bombers on a flight over the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, the defence ministry said, in the first such mission since Ukraine's stunning 1 June attack where bombers were destroyed or badly damaged by drones at air bases in Siberia and the far north.


Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Six members of Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIX members of a Russian spy ring are to have their jail sentences reviewed for being too lenient, we can reveal. The Bulgarians — who lived and worked in the UK — plotted sex stings, and targeted Russian dissidents and journalists critical of President Vladimir Putin's war effort against Ukraine. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Russian Spy Vanya Gaberova was sentenced to eight years in jail Credit: Reuters 7 The operations was run out of a Great Yarmouth guesthouse Credit: PA The ring included lab worker Katrin Ivanova, 33, and beauty shop owner Vanya Gaberova, 30 — dubbed 'killer sexy brunettes' by cell leaders. Ivanova got nine years and eight months and Gaberova eight years. They were both found guilty in March of breaching the Official Secrets Act by conspiring to provide information useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. Ivanova also got a concurrent sentence of 15 months for forged ID documents. read more on russia BRAND OF EVIL Ukrainian PoW released in swap left with 'Glory to Russia' burned on his body All six got a total of more than 50 years last month. The Attorney General's Office has been asked to consider the sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The ULS scheme allows anyone to ask for a Crown Court sentence to be assessed by the Attorney General's office if they think it is too lenient. Law officers have 28 days from sentencing to make a decision. 7 Katrin Ivanova was sentenced to nine years and eight months Credit: Central News 7 Orlin Roussev ran the spy ring Credit: PA 7 Ivan Iliev Stoyanov was convicted of carrying out surveillance for Putin 7 Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev was also jailed for his part in the spy ring Credit: PA 7 Biser Dzhambazov was convicted as part of the ring Credit: PA Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.