Ukraine says Russia has launched the biggest aerial attack since the start of the war
Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, a Ukrainian official said on Sunday, June 29, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the three-year-old war. Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine's air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely due to being electronically jammed.
Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air force, told the Associated Press that the overnight onslaught was "the most massive air strike" on the country, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the frontline. Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish air force said Sunday.
Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one person died in a drone strike. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, according to regional Governor Ihor Taburets. In the Lviv region in the far west of Ukraine, a large-scale fire broke out at an industrial facility in the city of Drohobych following a drone attack that also forced parts of the city to lose power.
Ukraine's air force also said one of the F-16 warplanes Ukraine received from its Western partners to help fight Russia's invasion crashed after sustaining damage while shooting down air targets. The pilot died when the fighter jet went down.
The fresh attacks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's saying Friday that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, the war shows no signs of abating as US-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent rounds of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and yielded no progress on reaching a settlement.
Long-range drone strikes have been a hallmark of the war. The race by both sides to develop increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones has turned the conflict into a testing ground for new weaponry.
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France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine in biggest air offensive since war began
Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, a Ukrainian official said Sunday, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the 3-year-old war. Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine's air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. The onslaught was 'the most massive air strike' on the country since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air force, told The Associated Press. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the front line. Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the country's air force said. One person died in a drone strike in the Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said, while another was killed when a drone hit a car in the Kharkiv region, according to its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, according to regional Gov. Ihor Taburets. In the far-western Lviv region, a large fire broke out at an industrial facility in the city of Drohobych following a drone attack that also cut electricity to parts of the city. Ukraine's air force said one of its F-16 warplanes supplied by its Western partners crashed after sustaining damage while shooting down air targets. The pilot died. The fresh attacks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments Friday that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, the war shows no signs of abating as US-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and yielded no progress on reaching a settlement. Long-range drone strikes have been a hallmark of the war. The race by both sides to develop increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones has turned the conflict into a testing ground for new weaponry.
LeMonde
10 hours ago
- LeMonde
Ukraine says Russia has launched the biggest aerial attack since the start of the war
Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, a Ukrainian official said on Sunday, June 29, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the three-year-old war. Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine's air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely due to being electronically jammed. Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air force, told the Associated Press that the overnight onslaught was "the most massive air strike" on the country, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the frontline. Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish air force said Sunday. Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one person died in a drone strike. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, according to regional Governor Ihor Taburets. In the Lviv region in the far west of Ukraine, a large-scale fire broke out at an industrial facility in the city of Drohobych following a drone attack that also forced parts of the city to lose power. Ukraine's air force also said one of the F-16 warplanes Ukraine received from its Western partners to help fight Russia's invasion crashed after sustaining damage while shooting down air targets. The pilot died when the fighter jet went down. The fresh attacks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's saying Friday that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, the war shows no signs of abating as US-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent rounds of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and yielded no progress on reaching a settlement. Long-range drone strikes have been a hallmark of the war. The race by both sides to develop increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones has turned the conflict into a testing ground for new weaponry.
Euronews
11 hours ago
- Euronews
Russia launches biggest aerial strikes on Ukraine yet
Russia has launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, with a total of 537 aerial weapons fired, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine's air force reported. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Apart from the drones, the air force listed four Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles, seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, one of which was shot down; 41 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles of which 33 were shot down and one disappeared from radar; five Kalibr cruise missiles (four shot down) and three S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air force, told the Associated Press that the overnight onslaught was 'the most massive air strike' on the country, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles. The attack targeted regions across Ukraine, including western Ukraine, far from the frontline. In a statement on social media, the Ukrainian air force had earlier announced that an F-16 fighter jet has been lost, the third one so far in this war: "Sadly, we have suffered another painful loss. Last night, while repelling a large-scale enemy air attack, First Class pilot Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, 32, was killed while flying an F-16 aircraft. The pilot used the full range of onboard weapons and shot down seven aerial targets. While engaging the final target, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude. Maksym Ustymenko did everything he could to steer the aircraft away from a populated area but did not manage to eject in time." EU warplanes scrambled to protect airspace Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish air force said on Sunday. As for the casualties, Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one person died in a drone strike. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, according to regional Governor Ihor Taburets. The fresh attacks follow a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, US-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and led to further exchanges of prisoners of war but yielded no progress on reaching a settlement.
