Russia and Ukraine trade drone strikes as Kyiv signs deals to boost drone production

Boston Globe

21 hours ago

Russian air defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian drones during the nighttime attacks, and 39 more before 2 p.m. Moscow time (7 a.m. EST) Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. It did not clarify how many had hit targets or how many had been launched in total.
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Early Sunday, Ukrainian drones injured two civilians in Russia's Belgorod region near the border, its Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The Ukrainian attacks came just days after Russia pummelled Kyiv with waves of drones and missiles overnight into Friday, in what Ukrainian officials called the largest such strike since Moscow's all-out invasion. The seven-hour onslaught killed at least two civilians, wounded dozens more, and caused widespread damage, Ukraine said, while Moscow
In total, Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine that night, according to the country's air force. The barrages have coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.
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Large-scale Russian drone strikes Sunday injured three civilians in Kyiv and at least two in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast, officials said. A Russian attack involving Shahed drones also targeted port infrastructure in Mykolaiv in central Ukraine, according to local Governor Vitaliy Kim. He reported that warehouses and the port's power grid were damaged, but there were no casualties.
Hours later, Russia launched a glide bomb and a drone at the front-line town of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine, killing four civilians and injuring a fifth, the prosecutor's office said. The drone struck a car in which a married couple were travelling, killing the 39-year-old woman and 40-year-old man on the spot, it said.
Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies and a leading US defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives 'hundreds of thousands' more this year.
Zelensky did not name the US business in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, but said Ukraine and Denmark have also agreed to co-produce drones and other weapons on Danish soil.
His remarks came days after the US
Ukraine has previously used homemade drones to hit high-value military targets deep inside Russia, demonstrating its capabilities and denting Moscow's confidence. Last month,
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Outmanned and outgunned, Ukraine's army has also turned to drones to compensate for its troop shortage and shore up its defenses. While Russia has
Friday, Zelensky said he had a 'very important and productive' phone call that day with President Trump, discussing possible joint drone production alongside
Trump said his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday left him 'very disappointed,' adding he did not think Putin was serious about ending the fighting.