Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine says Russia launched largest drone attack of war

AFP journalists in Kyiv heard explosions ringing out and drones buzzing over the capital during the barrage after air raid sirens sounded.

The air force said Russia fired 728 drones and 13 missiles, specifying that its air defence systems intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.

The strike, which officials said killed one civilian in the Khmelnytsky region, beat a previous Russian record of 550 drones and missiles fired at Ukraine on one day last week.

"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.

Zelensky, who met Pope Leo XIV and US special envoy Keith Kellogg on a visit to Rome, called for Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions on Russia, particularly on its key energy sector.

Following his meeting with Kellogg, the Ukrainian leader urged US lawmakers to pass a bill targeting Russia with tougher sanctions.

- Russia advances-

Kyiv has repeatedly accused China of supplying parts and technologies central to the Russian drone and missile programme, and urged the West to step up secondary penalties.

Kyiv's security services announced they had detained two Chinese nationals accused of attempting to smuggle missile technology out of the country.

The air force and regional authorities said Wednesday's attack had primarily targeted Lutsk, a town in western Ukraine.

The Russian defence ministry said its "long-range" and "precision" strike had targeted military airfield infrastructure, claiming that "all designated targets were destroyed". There was no response to that claim in Kyiv.

Russia's latest record barrage points to a trend of escalating attacks, that have piled pressure on Ukraine's thinly stretched air defence capabilities and exhausted civilian population.

"We are adapting to this rhythm of life. Of course, it's difficult, but what can you do?" Sergiy Skrypka, a student, told AFP in Kyiv.

"It's not easy, but I think it's hard for everyone now. We're dealing with it," the 22-year-old added.

A Ukraine air force representative said that new Ukrainian drones had played an important role in thwarting the Russian attack. Another official said that most of the Russian drones launched were decoys.

Two rounds of direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since Trump returned to the White House have resulted in an increase in prisoner exchanges but no progress on securing a ceasefire, proposed by the United States and Ukraine.

- Civilians burnt alive -

The Kremlin has since said that it sees no diplomatic path out of the conflict, launched by Moscow in February 2022, and vowed to pursue its war aims -- effectively seeking to conquer Ukraine and remove its political leadership.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was unfazed by Trump's sweary comments about President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Tuesday that the Russian leader was spouting "bullshit". He has also announced that the United States will send more weapons to Ukraine.

"Let's just say that Trump in general has quite a harsh rhetorical style in terms of the phrases he uses," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukraine has also sought to increase its attacks, with Russia's defence ministry saying on Wednesday that its air defence had downed 86 unmanned aerial vehicles, mainly over western regions.

The exchanges came with Russian forces steadily gaining ground at key sectors of the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Russia announced the capture of another village, Tolstoy, on Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has claimed as part of Russia since 2022, despite not fully controlling it.

Ukrainian prosecutors in the region said Russian drone and bombing attacks in two towns in Donetsk killed eight civilians on Wednesday.

Officials published images showing the remains of two people burnt to death in their car, which officials said was hit by a Russian drone.

A one-year-old boy was killed in another Russian attack on the village of Pravdyne in the southern Kherson region, local officials announced.

burs/sbk/tw

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST