Ukraine says four killed in massive Russian drone, missile attack

Russia launched more than 620 drones and long-range missiles overnight, killing four people and prompting Ukraine on Saturday to call for new sanctions on Moscow to stop the escalating attacks.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have intensified aerial strikes in recent months, while US-led ceasefire talks aimed at pausing the war — now in its third year — remain stalled.

“Twenty-six cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were launched, more than half of them Iranian-made ‘Shaheds’,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

According to the Ukrainian air force, they managed to shoot down 319 Shahed drones and 25 missiles. However, one missile and roughly 20 drones still struck five different locations, though details on these sites were not provided.

Zelensky said the attacks killed at least two people and injured 20 in Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine, far from the eastern and southern frontlines. In Lviv, also in the west, six people were wounded. In the east, two people were killed in Dnipropetrovsk, and three others were injured in Kharkiv, local officials reported.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed it targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities in Lviv, Kharkiv, and Lutsk, as well as a military airfield.

On Friday, Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks killed three people inside Russia.

Meanwhile, US special envoy Keith Kellogg is expected to arrive in Ukraine on Monday as Washington’s peace efforts continue to falter.

Also on Friday, the Kremlin reiterated its opposition to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that Kyiv’s allies had a plan “ready to go… in the hours after a ceasefire.”

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin but later said there had been no progress toward ending the war.

The Kremlin stated that while Putin remains committed to achieving Russia’s goals in Ukraine, he is still willing to engage in negotiations. Moscow has insisted its objective is to eliminate the “root causes” of the conflict, which includes Ukraine abandoning its ambitions to join NATO.

Weapons and sanctions 

On Thursday, Zelensky said Trump had given him firm dates for resuming US weapons deliveries and would make a statement about Russia on Monday.

Washington’s earlier announcement this month that it would pause some arms shipments to Ukraine was a setback for Kyiv, which heavily depends on Western military aid.

On Saturday, Zelensky urged Western allies to go beyond symbolic gestures and take decisive action to stop the war launched by Russia in February 2022.

“The pace of Russian airstrikes demands swift decisions, and it can be curbed now through sanctions,” he said, calling specifically for penalties on those who help Russia manufacture drones and profit from its oil exports.

Oil remains a vital part of Russia’s economy, especially as it faces existing Western sanctions.

While sanctions imposed on Russia — the world’s largest fertilizer producer — after the invasion spared its grain and fertilizer exports, prices still surged, raising concerns about global food security.

In July 2022, the United Nations brokered an agreement with Russia to facilitate food and fertilizer exports and help limit price increases.

However, on Friday, the UN said that this agreement would not be renewed when it expires on July 22.

Russia has repeatedly complained that the deal does little to shield it from the indirect effects of sanctions.