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The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Shahed blitz: can Russian drone onslaught break Ukraine's resolve?
Night by night, the blitz develops. Russian drones, decoys, cruise and ballistic missiles – increasingly aimed at a single city or location – are being launched in record numbers into Ukraine, straining the country's ability to defend itself and raising questions about how well it can endure another winter of war. One day earlier this month, 728 drones and 13 missiles were launched, mostly at the western city of Lutsk, home to many Ukrainian airfields. Large salvoes now come more frequently: every three to five days, rather than every 10 to 12, and civilian casualties are rising: 232 people were killed in June, the highest monthly level for three years. A 1,000-drone attack is anticipated shortly and last weekend a German army major general, Christian Freuding, predicted that the Kremlin's ambition was to attack Ukraine with '2,000 drones simultaneously'. Production of drones and missiles has improved, as have Russian tactics. Not only are the drones unleashed in larger swarms, with dozens of decoys included, but they are also being flown either much lower or at much higher altitudes, sometimes in a stack to fool the defenders before swooping down steeply to their target. The additional height takes them beyond the range of mobile Ukrainian gunners, whose job has been to shoot them down, relatively cheaply. Analyses of Ukrainian air force data show that more drones are getting through: from close to 5% in March and April to between 15% and 20% in May and June. Russia is also using its Shahed drones more intelligently, analysts say, to open a path for faster and more dangerous cruise and ballistic missiles because the 50kg (110lb) explosive normally carried by a Shahed only does a relatively limited amount of damage. Designed in Iran, the delta-winged Shahed 136s are now made in Russia, where they are known as Geran-2s. At least two factories have been identified, one in Izhevsk, and most notably in Yelabuga, more than 700 miles from Ukraine. The modern-looking assembly line was shown off on Russian television a few days ago, with dozens of distinctive fibreglass and carbon-fibre frames positioned to sinister effect in the background. 'The Shahed problem has been foreseeable for some time. Russia has been asking itself: 'What will be the T-34 of this war?'' said Jack Watling, a military expert with the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, referring to the tank that is considered by some to have helped the Soviets defeat the Nazis in the second world war. Watling said the issue uppermost in the minds of Russian planners was: 'What is the technology that we can invest in that is good and cheap enough and delivers decisive results?' Two of these are Shahed drones and Iskander missiles in which, he said, Russia has invested heavily in trying to deliver a long-term military-industrial victory. In the Russian video of the Yelabuga plant, the narrator says that teenagers as young as 15 are invited to work at the factory, coming from a nearby technical college, such has been the Kremlin's focus on trying to keep costs down. The Russian version of the Shahed 136 is cheap, costing roughly between $50,000 (£37,000) to $100,000 each, according to Samuel Bendett, a drone expert with the Centre for Naval Analyses thinktank. At the same time, component and manufacturing equipment supply for Shaheds has improved. 'China is more directly providing components to Russia,' said Kateryna Stepanenko, from the Institute for the Study of War, probably aided by a direct rail link to China near Yelabuga. 'Integration of Chinese components, where before there was supply from Iran, means the manufacturers now have a lot more available parts,' she said. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion In Ukraine, there is nervousness. Concern about the available air defence has prompted renewed public lobbying from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for US Patriot air defence systems, and a promise from Germany to pay for five more. But Patriots are only cost-effectively used against cruise and ballistic missiles, not Shaheds, because the modern PAC-3 interceptor missiles cost about $4m each. There has been a sustained effort in developing cheap drones to knock out the Shaheds, although details about the counter-drone efforts remain relatively scarce online, partly because the effort is concealed by operational security. A prominent Ukrainian fundraiser, Serhii Sternenko, said a fortnight ago that more than 100 air targets had been shot down as part of his foundation's 'Shahedoriz' project. That suggests modest progress. Watling argues the problem at the moment is that 'the technology exists but they have not scaled production of them yet'. That may be solved by a partnership announced by Zelenskyy with Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt earlier this month to produce 'interceptor drones', though again details are scant. At the same time, in the last month Ukrainian officials have been trying to restart efforts to lobby European powers to police the skies over the west of the country. One initiative, Sky Shield, proposed in March, suggested that 120 fighter jets could effectively engage in defensive air policing west of the Dnipro River – but this idea was only deemed practical after a ceasefire that Russia has refused to agree to. Though air policing has formed part of plans for a post-conflict 'reassurance force' led by the UK and France, there has so far been no appetite for western nations to step forward and protect Ukrainian airspace for fears it would lead to a direct conflict between a Nato country and Russia. 'It's so frustrating: countries send people to fight in Afghanistan for how long to defend from what – but nobody wants to help Ukraine better defend its skies,' said one source involved in the renewed effort. While there is not much confidence in diplomacy, the balance in the battle of the skies has tipped towards Russia. That could become more ominous if, in the coming weeks, Moscow makes a determined effort to target Ukraine's electricity grid and utility networks before winter. For now, the heightened level of missile and drone attacks demonstrates that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, 'remains committed to his goals to have Ukraine surrender and capitulate', said Stepanenko. 'This war is certainly not a stalemate.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia launches record drone attack on Ukraine after Trump lashes out at Putin
Russia intensified its bombardment of Ukraine overnight with a record drone attack targeting 10 regions, less than 24 hours after President Trump aired his frustrations with Russian President Vladimir Putin for making little progress toward peace in the more than three-year war. The Russian military fired 728 drones, including more than 300 Shahed drones, along with 13 Iskander-K and Kinzhal missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force. The city of Lutsk, located in the northwest of Ukraine, was hit the hardest by the latest airstrikes. The city is situated near the Polish and Belarusian borders and has a population of more than 200,000 residents. It is also home to the Lutsk Air Base. Russia's Defense Ministry said air bases were the intended target and claimed it was successful in its mission. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that apart from the city of Lutsk, the Russian attack also targeted the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions. 'This is a telling attack — and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all,' Zelensky wrote Wednesday morning in a post on social platform X. 'This is yet another proof of the need for sanctions — biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow's war machine with money for over three years of the war.' His push comes after Ukraine hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that the Senate will move 'soon' on a 'tough' Russia sanctions package that would impose a 500 percent tariff on imports from any country that buys Russian gas, uranium and oil. The measure has more than 80 co-sponsors in the upper chamber and Trump confirmed he is also 'looking at' the bill. Trump, who has pushed to end the raging war in Eastern Europe, lashed out at Putin during a Cabinet hearing Tuesday. 'That is a war that it should have never happened,' the president said. 'A lot of people are dying and it should end. We get a lot of bulls— thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.' Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that 'we react quite calmly to that.' 'First of all, Trump makes quite harsh statements, judging from the phrases that he has used,' the Kremlin spokesman added. Russia's record attack on Wednesday also comes after the U.S. earlier this week said it would resume sending defense weapons to Ukraine, days after pausing the delivery of some air defense and munitions. Trump said the move was necessary so Kyiv can defend itself amid the onslaught. He spoke with Putin last week via phone, later telling reporters that the two made 'no progress' in brokering a potential ceasefire. The president added that he was 'disappointed with the conversation,' and that he didn't believe the Russian leader was 'looking to stop, and that's too bad.' Trump spoke with Zelensky the next day. The Ukrainian leader said they had a 'very important and fruitful' discussion. Over the weekend, Russia's military pounded Kyiv and other cities by launching 550 drones and missiles, injuring dozens of people and setting fire to cars and ambulances. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Russia's intensifying drone war is spreading fear and eroding Ukrainian morale
Everyone agrees: it's getting people of Kyiv have, like the citizens of other Ukrainian cities, been through a three and a half years of fluctuating fortunes, they are tough and extremely in recent months, they have been experiencing something new: vast, coordinated waves of attacks from the air, involving hundreds of drones and missiles, often concentrated on a single city. Deadly new Russian drone and missile attack hits Kyiv Last night, it was Kyiv. And the week before too. In between, it was Lutsk in the far years ago, Iranian-supplied Shahed drones were a relative novelty. I remember hearing my first, buzzing a lazy arc across the night sky above the southern city of Zaporizhzhia in October now everyone is familiar with the sound, and its most fearsome recent iteration: a dive-bombing wail some have compared to the German World War Two Stuka sound of swarms of approaching drones have sent hardened civilians back to bomb shelters, the metro and underground car parks for the first time since the early days of the war."The house shook like it was made of paper," Katya, a Kyiv resident, told me after last night's heavy bombardment."We spent the entire night sitting in the bathroom.""I went to the parking for the first time," another resident, Svitlana, told me."The building shook and I could see fires across the river."The attacks don't always claim lives, but they are spreading fear and eroding an attack on a residential block in Kyiv last week, a shocked grandmother, Mariia, told me that her 11-year old grandson had turned to her, in the shelter, and said he understood the meaning of death for the first has every reason to be fearful. The UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) says June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed and over 1,300 will have been killed or wounded in communities close to the front lines, but others have been killed in cities far from the fighting."The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline," says Danielle Bell, head of HRMMU. Modifications in the Shahed's design have allowed it to fly much higher than before and descend on its target from a greater range has also increased, to around 2,500km, and it's capable of carrying a more deadly payload (up from around 50kg of explosive to 90kg).Tracking maps produced by local experts show swirling masses of Shahed drones, sometimes taking circuitous routes across Ukraine before homing in on their – often as many as half – are decoys, designed to confuse and overwhelm Ukraine's air straight lines show the paths of ballistic or cruise missiles: much fewer in number but the weapons Russia relies on to do the most by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War shows an increase in Russia's drone and missile strikes in the two months following Donald Trump's inauguration in saw a slight decline, with occasional spikes, until May, when the numbers suddenly rose records have been set with alarming regularity. June saw a new monthly high of 5,429 drones, July has seen more than 2,000 in just the first nine production in Russia ramping up, some reports suggest Moscow may soon be able to fire over 1,000 missiles and drones in a single in Kyiv warn that the country is in danger of being overwhelmed."If Ukraine doesn't find a solution for how to deal with these drones, we will face great problems during 2025," says former intelligence officer Ivan Stupak."Some of these drones are trying to reach military objects - we have to understand it - but the rest, they are destroying apartments, falling into office buildings and causing lots of damage to citizens."For all their increasing capability, the drones are not an especially sophisticated weapon. But they do represent yet another example of the vast gulf in resources between Russia and also neatly illustrates the maxim, attributed to the Soviet Union's World War Two leader Joseph Stalin, that "quantity has a quality of its own.""This is a war of resources," says Serhii Kuzan, of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre."When production of particular missiles became too complicated - too expensive, too many components, too many complicated supply routes – they concentrated on this particular type of drone and developed different modifications and improvements."The more drones in a single attack, Kuzan says, the more Ukraine hard-pressed air defence units struggle to shoot them down. This forces Kyiv to fall back on its precious supply of jets and air-to-air missiles to shoot them down."So if the drones go as a swarm, they destroy all the air defence missiles," he President Zelensky's constant appeals to Ukraine's allies to do more to protect its skies. Not just with Patriot missiles – vital to counter the most dangerous Russian ballistic threat – but with a wide array of other systems Thursday, the British government said it would sign a defence agreement with Ukraine to provide more than 5,000 air defence will be looking for many more such deals in the coming months.
SBS Australia
09-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Russia launches major attack on Ukraine as the US considers its reaction
TRANSCRIPT Russia launches a major attack on Ukraine as the US considers its reaction Police charge seven people allegedly involved in the so-called blessings scam Queensland clinches the state of origin series Ukrainian officials says Russia fired a record 728 drones and 13 missiles in the latest strikes on Ukraine, amid its mounting campaign of aerial and ground attacks. The city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine's northwest, was hit hardest overnight, though 10 other regions were also struck. There are no immediate reports of casualties. This is the latest in a series of escalating attacks on western Ukraine, which contains key supply corridors used to receive vital foreign military aid. It comes as US President Donald Trump rebukes Russian President Vladimir Putin and signals he may send weapons to Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, says Russia hopes the US will remain engaged in dialogue. "We also hope that despite all the decisions to resume weapons supplies, although in reality they have never been halted, Trump and his team will continue efforts to take the process of Ukrainian settlement to a political and diplomatic stage." Also on Wednesday, Europe's top human rights court delivered rulings against Russia, accusing it of violating international law. Four crew members are dead and 15 are missing, after Yemen's Houthi rebels sank a commercial ship in the Red Sea in their second attack this week. According to Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, the Eternity C vessel, which is operated by a Greek company and sails under a Liberian flag, was struck several times. "The naval forces of the Yemeni (Houthi) armed forces targeted the vessel Eternity C, which was heading to the port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) in occupied Palestine. The operation was carried out using an unmanned boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles. The operation resulted in the complete sinking of the ship, and the event was documented with audio and video." Mr Sarea says the ship was targeted for violating a ban on trade with Israeli ports and ignored repeated warnings from Houthi forces. He says a special unit rescued several crew members, provided medical aid, and transferred them to a secure location. The Iran-aligned group has vowed to continue striking any vessels connected to Israel in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Police have issued warrants for seven people, as part of an investigation into spiritual blessings scams targeting Asian communities. They say the alleged offenders would typically target elderly Chinese women - promising to bless their wealth, after convincing them their families are at risk from spirits. Since 2023, New South Wales Police says it's received over 80 reports across Sydney, with more than $3 million in cash and valuables stolen. Assistant Police Commissioner Gavin Wood says the scam targetted vulnerable people. "They are what I would describe as very, very vulnerable people. Majority of them are female, they elderly, and they absolutely underpin the word vulnerability, and that's what makes this scam, this crime - let's not call it a scam, this crime - so serious. They (perpetrators) are like piranhas. They are circling around vulnerable people. And they are robbing them of, at times, huge amounts of money, and their jewellery." Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australia will not compromise any element of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, as the United States threatens huge tariffs on all pharmaceutical products. It comes as US President Donald Trump announced a potential 200 per cent tariff on all pharmaceutical imports, threatening Australia's third-largest export to America after beef and gold. He says these tariffs are not likely to come into effect for at least a year. The US pharmaceutical industry has reportedly been lobbying President Trump to target Australia's PBS scheme, which offers heavily discounted medicines to Australians. Mr Chalmers says the scheme is not under threat but he believes the threat of more tariffs is creating widespread economic uncertainty. "We think that these tariffs inject an unnecessary element of uncertainty, unpredictability and volatility in the global economy. Whether it's the developments on copper and pharmaceuticals or the tariffs more broadly. We're not prepared to negotiate any element of the PBS in the engagement we have with the US." Tasmania's Aboriginal community is gathering at Wybalenna on Flinders Island to mark NAIDOC week with a time of healing and truth-telling. As many as 300 Palawa people were exiled to Wybalenna's internment camp after the arrival of Europeans. There are 107 confirmed burial sites in the cemetery at Wybalenna, and the locations of many more are not known. The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania has managed the site since the late 1990s. Rebecca Digney was its manager when works began a few years ago, to make it easier for the community to spend time at Wybalenna. 'We're really trying to invite people back to this site so we can reconnect with the history here, and particularly reconnect with the Stories of our ancestors. Wybalenna is a really sacred place for the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. It was the place where our people were exiled to as a result of the Black War, and many of the people who were brought here died here.' In the NRL, Queensland has added another chapter to the Maroons' State of Origin folklore, shocking New South Wales with a 24-12 victory at Accor Stadium to win back the shield. In a state of chaos a month ago after losing game one, the Maroons were dominant on Wednesday night. The win follows a previous triumph over NSW in Perth last month, making last night's decider anyone's game. The Maroons were so dominant, they completed their first 30 sets and took a 20-0 lead against the Blues by half time.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia batters Ukraine with more than 700 drones, the largest barrage of the war, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks, part of Moscow's intensifying aerial and ground assault in the three-year war, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses 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. The city of Lutsk, home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army, was the hardest hit, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It lies in western Ukraine near the border with Poland, a region that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid. The attack comes at a time of increased uncertainty over the supply of crucial American weapons and as U.S.-led peace efforts have stalled. Zelenskyy said that the Kremlin was 'making a point' with it. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces took aim at Ukrainian air bases and that 'all the designated targets have been hit.' Meanwhile, Ukraine fired drones into Russia overnight, killing three people, officials said. The Russian attack, which included 728 drones and 13 missiles, had the largest number of drones fired in a single night in the war. On Friday, Russia fired 550 drones, less than a week after it launched 477, both the largest at the time, officials said. Beyond Lutsk, 10 regions were struck. One person was killed in the Khmelnytskyi region, and two wounded in the Kyiv region, officials said. Poland 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. Russia's bigger army has also launched a new drive to punch through parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where short-handed Ukrainian forces are under heavy strain. Trump says US must send more weapons to Ukraine U.S. President Donald Trump said 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. Trump said Monday that the U.S. would have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after Washington paused critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Trump 'has quite a tough style in terms of the phrasing he uses,' adding that Moscow hopes to 'continue our dialogue with Washington and our course aimed at repairing the badly damaged bilateral ties.' Zelenskyy, meanwhile, urged Ukraine's partners to impose stricter sanctions on Russian oil and those who help finance the Kremlin's war by buying it. 'Everyone who wants peace must act,' Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader met Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday during a visit to Italy ahead of an international conference on rebuilding Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine look to build more drones Ukraine's air defenses shot down 296 drones and seven missiles during the overnight attack, while 415 more drones were lost from radars or jammed, an air force statement said. Ukrainian interceptor drones, developed to counter the Shahed ones fired by Russia, are increasingly effective, Zelenskyy said, adding that domestic production of anti-aircraft drones is being scaled up in partnership with some Western countries. Western military analysts say Russia is also boosting its drone manufacturing and could soon be capable of launching 1,000 a night at Ukraine. 'Russia continues to expand its domestic drone production capacity amid the ever-growing role of tactical drones in front-line combat operations and Russia's increasingly large nightly long-range strike packages against Ukraine,' the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Tuesday. Ukraine has also built up its own offensive drone threat, reaching deep into Russia with some long-range strikes. Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that air defenses downed 86 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions overnight, including the Moscow region. Flights were 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 that a Ukrainian drone attack on the region's capital city just before midnight killed three people and wounded seven others, including a 5-year-old boy. Meanwhile, Europe's top human rights court ruled Wednesday that Russia had violated international law during the war in Ukraine, the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022. The court also ruled Russia was behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the first time Moscow was named by an international court as being responsible for the 2014 tragedy that claimed 298 lives. Any decision is largely symbolic. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
