One Killed As Russia Launches 450 Drones, 40 Missiles Into Ukraine
Russia has unleashed one of its largest overnight assaults on Ukraine with more than 40 missiles and around 450 drones fired across 15 regions, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
AP reports that at least one person was killed in the Zhytomyr region, while three others were injured in Khmelnytskyi.
Ukraine’s air force reported that 386 drones and 27 missiles were intercepted, but some strikes hit industrial facilities in Vinnytsia and triggered a massive fire in Volyn spanning 1,000 square meters.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while condemning the attack, claimed that at least eight Iranian-made “Shahed” drones launched by Russia had been deliberately aimed towards Poland.
“Today there was another step of escalation – Russian-Iranian ‘Shaheds’ operated in the airspace of Poland, in NATO airspace. It was not just one drone that could be called an accident, but at least eight strike drones aimed toward Poland,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Polish authorities confirmed shooting down drones that entered their airspace, describing the incursion as “an act of aggression.”
Zelenskyy urged European allies to respond strongly and to move forward with plans for a joint Ukraine-Europe air defence shield.
“Ukraine has long proposed the creation of a joint air defence system to ensure the guaranteed downing of ‘Shaheds’, other drones, and missiles through the combined strength of our combat aviation and air defences,” he said.
Calling the violation of Polish airspace a “dangerous precedent,” Zelenskyy warned it was no accident but a deliberate provocation by Russia.
“Russia must feel that the response to this escalatory step, and even more so to an attempt to humiliate one of Europe’s key countries, will be clear and strong from all partners,” he added.
Ukraine continues to press the United States and the European Union for tougher sanctions against Russia, arguing that only severe restrictions can halt Russia’s capacity to sustain the war.
One Killed As Russia Launches 450 Drones, 40 Missiles Into Ukraine is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
