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Russia launches 700 drones against Ukraine after Trump promises to send more weapons

Russia launched 728 drones against Ukraine overnight. This was just hours after U.S. president Donald Trump had pledged to send additional defensive weapons to Kyiv, and criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin in an unusually harsh manner.

This attack was part of an escalating series of air attacks in recent weeks, which have included hundreds of drones as well as ballistic missiles. The air defences of Ukraine are being strained at a critical time in the war.

According to Yurii Ihnat, the air force spokesperson on Ukrainian TV, Kyiv's army downed most of the drones. However, some hypersonic missiles fired by Russia caused damage that was not specified.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, who is scheduled to meet with U.S. ambassador Keith Kellogg on Wednesday in Rome, said that the strike demonstrated the need for "biting" sanctions on the sources used by Russia to fund the war. This includes those who purchase Russian oil.

Trump said Tuesday that he would consider supporting a bill imposing harsh sanctions on Russia. This includes tariffs of 500% on nations who buy Russian oil and gas, uranium, and other exports.

"We are constantly bombarded with bullshit by Putin." Trump told a cabinet gathering that Putin is always very nice, but his words are meaningless.

Trump replied, "I would not tell you." When asked by a journalist what actions he planned to take against Putin. We're going to surprise you.

Separately Europe is working on new sanctions against Moscow.

Trump, who came to power in this year with the promise of a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, now has a more accommodative tone towards Moscow, a change from the Biden Administration's staunch backing for Kyiv.

The initial talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States to end the Kremlin invasion of February 2022 have not yielded much fruit. Moscow has yet to accept a ceasefire that was proposed by Trump and accepted in Kyiv.

The U.S. President's promise to provide more defensive weapons seemed to reverse a Pentagon Decision days earlier to halt some crucial munitions to Ukraine despite increased Russian attacks which have killed dozens of people in recent weeks.

After the attack on Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that all diplomatic methods to end the war had been exhausted. He promised to continue his support for Kyiv.

Zelenskiy, following Trump's promise, said on Tuesday that he had ordered a greater expansion of contacts with United States in order to ensure crucial deliveries of military supplies, especially air defence.

POLAND SCRAMBLES JET

Residents of Kyiv, and other major cities, spent the night in shelters for air raids such as metro stations.

A part of the overnight Russian strike targeted a region in western Ukraine, close to NATO member Poland. Zelenskiy stated that the city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine, about 200 km from Poland, was a main target. He listed 10 other provinces throughout Ukraine, where damage had also been reported.

Polish and allies aircraft were

Activated

The Polish military has said that it is committed to ensuring air safety.

Regional authorities reported that although buildings in Lutsk were damaged, no injuries or deaths occurred during the largest airstrike of the war against the city, which has a population of 200,000.

Ihor Poleschuk, the mayor of the city, reported that a storage facility and parking structures had caught fire.

Ivan Rudnytskyi said that 50 Russian drones, five missiles, and other aircraft were flying in the airspace of Volyn, which includes Lutsk. (Reporting and editing by Frank Jack Daniel, Peter Graff and Lidia Kelly)

(source: Reuters)