Russia attacks Ukraine with 700 drones after Trump vows to send more weapons

Trump, who returned to power this year promising a swift end to the war in Ukraine, has shifted US rhetoric away from staunch support for Kyiv towards accepting some of Moscow’s justifications for the full-scale invasion it launched in 2022.

But initial rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine have so far borne little fruit, with Moscow yet to accept an unconditional ceasefire proposed by Trump and accepted by Kyiv.

The US president’s promise to supply more defensive weapons reversed a Pentagon decision days earlier to stall some critical munitions supplies to Ukraine, despite rising Russian attacks that spread fear in Kyiv.

Following Trump’s new promise, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure critical deliveries of military supplies, primarily air defence.

Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due in Rome later on Wednesday to attend a Jul 10-11 international aid conference on Ukraine, attended by Zelenskyy and Kyiv’s European allies.

POLAND SCRAMBLES JETS

Residents of Kyiv and other major cities spent the night in air raid shelters including metro stations.

Part of Russia’s overnight strike was aimed at a western region close to NATO-member Poland. The northwestern city of Lutsk, some 200km from Poland, was the main target, Zelenskyy said, listing 10 other provinces across the country where damage was also reported.

Polish and allied aircraft were activated to ensure air safety, Poland’s Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.

Buildings were damaged but no deaths or injuries reported in what amounted to the biggest air strike of the war on Lutsk, a city of 200,000 people, regional authorities said.