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By John Feng and Shane Croucher
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Russia has launched its largest single-day drone attack of the Ukraine war to date, with President Donald Trump appearing to be losing patience with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
This involved 728 Shaheds, the Ukrainian Air Force said, adding that 13 missiles had also been fired, comprising seven Iskander-K cruise missiles and six Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles. It said 718 of the weapons were neutralized in the overnight attack that ended on Wednesday morning.
"This is a telling attack—and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X.
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NATO's Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace amid the Russian assault on neighboring Ukraine.
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Russia's defense ministry said it had launched a strike "with high-precision long-range air-launched weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles and long-range attack unmanned aerial vehicles on the infrastructure of military airfields."
"The target of the strike has been achieved. All designated objects have been hit," the ministry said in a post on Telegram.
Trump Accuses Putin of 'B*******'
The latest assault came after Trump accused Putin of throwing "a lot of b*******" at the U.S.
"He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said of Putin at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 8.
Russia has been escalating its aerial attacks and making advances in eastern Ukraine, as Trump tries to broker an end to Moscow's war.
A recent call with Putin left Trump "very disappointed."
"I'm just saying, I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad," Trump told reporters on July 3 following the call.
Trump has since said he would send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine to help the country defend its skies after his administration scrapped a planned shipment when a Pentagon review raised concerns about the depletion of domestic stockpiles.
Zelensky Calls for More Pressure on Russia
Ukraine and its European allies want Trump to go further, increasing the supply of weapons and introducing new sanctions on Russia to force Putin to the negotiating table.
Without such pressure, they say, Putin will continue to use military force in pursuit of his goals.
"This is yet another proof of the need for sanctions—biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow's war machine with money for over three years of the war," Zelensky said after the latest aerial attack.
"Secondary sanctions on those who buy this oil and thereby sponsor killings. Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes. Everyone who wants peace must act."
Kyiv is already working with Europe to expand vital defense production and make purchases of key weapons, including from the U.S., in anticipation of Trump pulling back from the conflict.
Lavrov Lists Russian Demands for Peace Deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has listed Moscow's demands for a peace deal that would end the war, including Ukraine's demilitarization and neutrality, international recognition of territory occupied by Moscow, and the lifting of sanctions.
"These provisions must be included in a legally binding agreement for peaceful settlement," Lavrov told Hungarian publication Magyar Nemzet in an interview published on Monday, July 7.
Lavrov also said his country wants protections for ethnic Russians and Russian culture in Ukraine, which he accused Kyiv of "destroying" since 2014.
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