US politics live: NATO jets scrambled as Putin launches largest drone attack yet
Russia has pummelled Ukraine with its largest missile and drone attack in more than three years of war, claiming to have targeted an airfield in a region bordering Poland early on Wednesday.
The strikes came after US President Donald Trump said he would ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of spouting 'bulls--t' on Ukraine.
The latest strike, which regional officials said had killed one civilian in the Khmelnytsky region, beat a previous Russian record of firing 550 drones and missiles at Ukraine set last week.
The air force announced that Russia attacked with 728 drones and 13 missiles, specifying that its air defence systems intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.
'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,' President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.
Mr Zelensky, who was visiting Rome and met with Pope Leo XIV, called for Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions on Russia, particularly on its energy sector — an important revenue stream for the Russian war chest.
'Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes,' Mr Zelensky said.
Earlier, Mr Trump threatened to introduce 200 per cent tariffs on pharmaceuticals – one of Australia's biggest exports to the US.
He also unveiled plans for a 50 per cent tariff on copper — a move that is expected to smash big Australian miners like BHP and Rio Tinto.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said these were 'very concerning developments' and the government was 'urgently seeking more detail'.
'It's been a feature of recent months that we've had these sorts of announcements out of DC,' he told ABC RN
'Our pharmaceuticals industry is much more exposed to the US market, and that's why we're urgently seeking some more detail on what's been announced.'
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