Kyiv, July 1: Russia launched its most extensive aerial attack on Ukraine overnight, firing more than 500 drones and missiles in a massive bombardment that killed at least nine people and damaged infrastructure across multiple regions, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia deployed a total of 537 aerial weapons, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were likely jammed electronically, officials said. The barrage, which extended to western regions far from the front line, was described as the largest single airstrike since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
“This was the most massive airstrike to date in terms of combined drone and missile use,” said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force.
The attacks caused fatalities across multiple regions:
- Three people were killed in separate drone strikes in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk.
- Another civilian died in an airstrike on Kostyantynivka.
- One man was killed by Russian shelling in Kherson city.
- A 70-year-old woman was found dead beneath rubble after shelling in the Zaporizhzhia region.
In Drohobych, located in the far-western Lviv region, a drone strike triggered a major fire at an industrial facility and disrupted electricity supply to parts of the city.
Ukraine also confirmed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet provided by Western allies. The aircraft reportedly sustained damage while engaging Russian targets and crashed, killing the pilot.
Russia, meanwhile, claimed it had shot down three Ukrainian drones overnight. In Bryansk, western Russia, two people were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike, and seven drones were reportedly intercepted over the region, according to Governor Alexander Bogomaz.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that its forces had captured the village of Novoukrainka in the contested Donetsk region, as Moscow continues its slow advance along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line.
In a separate development, Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin confirmed a phone conversation with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, stating that both sides agreed to keep lines of communication open.
The renewed assault follows recent remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Moscow is ready for another round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, previous negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have shown no tangible progress.
In a controversial political move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use of antipersonnel landmines. Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko defended the decision, citing Russia’s extensive use of mines and the current wartime reality. Russia is not a signatory to the treaty.
“This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded,” Kostenko said.
