NATO Jets Scrambled Amid Largest Russia Drone Attack On Ukraine
Russia unleashed its largest aerial attack yet on Ukraine by launching more than 700 drones, prompting NATO jets to scramble into Polish airspace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the massive Russian attack involved "728 drones of various types, including over 300 Shaheds, and 13 missiles" - Kinzhals and Iskanders.
"Most of the targets were shot down. Our interceptor drones were used -- dozens of enemy targets were downed, and we are scaling up this technology. Mobile fire groups were also active - they downed dozens as well. I thank all our warriors for their precision," he said.
The Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said the latest Russian attack topped previous aerial and ground assaults in the three-year war. Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine's air defences by launching major attacks that include increasing numbers of decoy drones. The most recent one appeared aimed at disrupting Ukraine's vital supply of Western weapons.
Lutsk, a city that's home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army, was the hardest hit. It lies near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, a region that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid.
Poland, a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), scrambled its fighter jets and put its armed forces on the highest level of alert in response to the attack, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command wrote in an X post.
Beyond Lutsk, 10 more regions in Ukraine were struck. Officials said one person was killed in the Khmelnytskyi region, while two were wounded in the Kyiv region.
The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed its forces took aim at Ukrainian air bases, saying "all the designated targets have been hit."
US Peace Efforts Stalled
The attack comes at a time of increased uncertainty over the supply of crucial American weapons and as US-led peace efforts have stalled. Zelenskyy said that the Kremlin was "making a point" with its barrage.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was "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.
On Monday, he said the US would have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after Washington paused critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
On Wednesday, the US resumed deliveries of certain weapons, including 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could provide details that hadn't been announced publicly. It's unclear exactly when the weapons started moving.
Ukraine's Attack On Russia
Ukraine also fired drones into Russia overnight, killing three people in the Kursk border region, including a 5-year-old boy. Russia's Defence Ministry said Wednesday that air defences downed 86 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions overnight, including the Moscow region.
Flights were also temporarily suspended at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and the international airport of Kaluga, south of Moscow.
The governor of Russia's Kursk border region, Alexander Khinshtein, said a Ukrainian drone attack on the region's capital city just before midnight killed three people and wounded seven others, including the 5-year-old boy who died on the way to a hospital.
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