KYIV — Russia battered Ukraine with a record number of drones and missiles overnight as the U.S. administration debates who knew what about the Pentagon’s recent decision to stop military aid to Kyiv.
Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday morning that Russia had launched over 740 killer drones and missiles overnight, with the most extensive damage reported in the city of Lutsk in western Ukraine, some 100 kilometers from the Polish border. The attack forced Polish and Allied aircraft to scramble to secure Poland’s airspace.
Russia also targeted Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro, among other areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday.
Ukraine shot down most of the drones, and Iskander ballistic missiles launched at its territory. But all six of Russia’s newest aeroballistic Kinzhal made it past air defenses, as Ukraine faces an acute shortage of the U.S. Patriot missile systems it needs to stop them.
“Only Patriots can shoot down” Kinzhals, said Yurii Ihnat, a Ukrainian air force spokesperson.
The Patriot shortfall, caused by the increasing number of drones and missiles Russia has been deploying against Ukraine over the summer, was exacerbated by the Pentagon’s decision last week to halt shipments of some air defense missiles to Kyiv.
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to reinstate weapons shipments to Ukraine this week after his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, reportedly authorized the halt without informing the White House. POLITICO reported Wednesday that the decision was made on a recommendation by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy chief.
“Putin is not treating human beings right. So we’re sending some defensive weapons, and I’ve approved that” Trump told journalists on Tuesday.
When asked who ordered the pause of shipments, Trump said: “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
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