Shaun
What you need to know
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome
- They discussed improving Ukraine’s air defense and toughening sanctions against Russia
- Moscow has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine this week, as efforts at diplomacy continue to flounder
- The Ukrainian air force reported multiple drone and ballistic missile attacks on northeastern and eastern Ukraine
- US President Donald Trump, who has grown frustrated with Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress in peace talks, has said he will deliver a ‘major statement’ on Russia on Monday
Russia intercepts 155 Ukrainian drones — Defense Ministry
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday morning that over 150 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight.
It said in a Telegram post that between 11 p.m. Moscow time (2000 GMT) on July 10 and 7 a.m. on July 11, air defenses intercepted and destroyed 155 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, as well as in Kursk, Bryansk, Smolensk, Belgorod and Crimea, among others, the statement said.
Ukrainian drone kills one in Russia — regional governor
A drone crashed into a farming area in western Russia on Friday, killing one person and injuring another, the regional governor said.
“Tonight a drone fell on the territory of one of the agricultural enterprises in Khlevensky district. As a result, a fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished,” Lipetsk regional governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.
The crash happened around 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the south of Moscow.
It was not immediately clear if the crash was the result of a Ukrainian drone being shot down by Russian forces or simply a Ukrainian strike.
Russia launches fresh air strikes: Ukraine air force
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched more drone and ballistic missile attacks overnight.
The strikes come as Russia has significantly stepped up its air onslaught this week. On Wednesday, it launched its largest drone attack since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
In multiple posts on Telegram, the Ukrainian Air Force said missiles were fired at the eastern regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk.
The air force also said “several groups” of drones had struck Donetsk, while another had hit the Lyubotyn area of Kharkiv, a northeastern region bordering Russia.
Drone attacks were also registered in Mykolaiv and Sumy region.
In the series of posts, Ukraine also said it had detected a “threat of ballistic weapons from the northeast.”
There were no reports of whether the air strikes had struck any of their targets, or if there were any casualties or damage.
Trump teases ‘major statement’ on Russia on Monday
In an interview with US broadcaster NBC News on Thursday, Donald Trump said he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday, without providing further details on what that announcement would entail.
“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” the US president said.
Trump this week has expressed his growing frustration with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after the pair spoke on the phone this week.
Russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes on Ukraine this week, with at least two people killed and over 25 injured in Kyiv on Thursday.
During the interview, Trump also said the US was sending weapons to NATO, adding that the Atlantic Alliance would “100%” be paying for the weapons.
The US president also addressed a proposed bipartisan bill — promoted by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal — that would slap more sanctions on Russia.
“They’re going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it’s up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it,” Trump said.
