Russia Unleashes Record Drone Strike on Ukraine as Trump Restarts Weapons Shipments
by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Russia has launched the largest aerial assault of the war so far, bombarding Ukraine with a record-breaking 728 drones and 13 missiles overnight—an attack that Ukrainian officials say was designed to send a clear message in response to the Trump administration’s renewed military support for Kyiv.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, the assault included swarms of third-generation Shahed drones, along with decoy UAVs intended to confuse and overwhelm air defenses. Ten regions were hit, with the northwestern city of Lutsk—home to key airfields and military infrastructure—bearing the brunt of the attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was timed to coincide with Washington’s reversal of a recent pause on arms deliveries. “This is a telling attack,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on X. “It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace… and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”
The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that it would resume and expand its shipment of defensive weapons to Ukraine, under direct orders from President Donald Trump. “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves,” a statement read.
U.S. air defenses based in Poland were scrambled during the overnight barrage to secure NATO airspace near the Ukrainian border. The Polish Armed Forces later confirmed that the situation had stabilized within two hours.
Despite the ferocity of the Russian assault, Ukrainian defenses intercepted 296 drones and 7 missiles, while 415 drones were lost to jamming or radar interference. Still, the sheer scale of the attack has left significant damage in key logistics and military zones. Ukrainian regions affected include Dnipro, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Sumy, among others.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged the strikes, calling them “long-range precision attacks” targeting military airfields. “All designated targets were destroyed,” the ministry claimed, without addressing the civilian damage reported by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Kremlin officials accused Ukraine of escalating the conflict by attacking civilian sites in the Russian city of Kursk on Tuesday. According to Russian state media, a beach and hospital were struck, killing three and wounding nine. Moscow also claimed to have intercepted 86 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions overnight.
The drone offensive comes amid increasing signs of Russian industrial and technological adaptation. Military analysts note that the latest wave of Shahed drones are domestically modified variants—larger, faster, and equipped with twice the payload of earlier models. These drones are now deployed in tandem with decoy units to exhaust Ukraine’s anti-air defenses.
Observers say Russia has increasingly targeted Ukrainian refineries, industrial hubs, and even military recruitment centers—buildings whose locations are public knowledge due to widespread conscription efforts. Ukrainian citizens have reportedly shared the addresses of these centers on social media, in what analysts describe as growing domestic frustration with Kyiv’s aggressive mobilization practices.
Trump’s decision to renew weapons shipments follows a pointed rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a White House Cabinet meeting. “That was a war that should have never happened, and a lot of people are dying,” Trump said. “We get a lot of [expletive] thrown at us by Putin… He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
When pressed on what actions he might take, Trump offered a cryptic reply: “Well, I wouldn’t be telling you. Don’t we want to have a little surprise?”
The former president also signaled support for legislation proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would impose severe economic pressure on Moscow—including 500 percent tariffs on countries continuing to import Russian oil, gas, and uranium.
Ukraine is now calling for intensified sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, which Zelenskyy says remains the “lifeline of Moscow’s war machine.” His administration is pushing for secondary sanctions on nations purchasing Russian oil, urging Western allies to act decisively to bring the war to a halt.
“Everyone who wants peace must act,” Zelenskyy said. “This is yet another proof of the need for biting sanctions—especially on oil, which has been fueling this war for over three years.”
As Ukraine reels from the largest aerial attack in modern warfare, the geopolitical stakes are once again rising, with Washington and Moscow locked in a high-stakes contest over the future of Eastern Europe.
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