Russia’s drone attacks on Ukraine hit record high in July
Russia fired more than 6,000 drones on Ukraine in July, more than any other month since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the AFP news agency and the Kyiv Independent reported.
The drone attacks killed dozens of people and injured many more. They also damaged civilian targets, including many homes, a kindergarten and an ambulance.According to the AFP news agency, data published by Ukraine’s air force showed that Russia fired 6,297 long-range drones into Ukraine last month, up by nearly 16 percent compared with June.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Russia launched a record 6,129 Shahed-type drones in July, 14 times more than in the same month last year, when Russia launched just 423 drones.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told the Kyiv Independent that the real number of Russian drone attacks may be higher, since figures are based on estimates.
In just one night on July 9, Russian forces launched a record 741 drones and decoys on Western Ukraine, more than the number of drones it launched in the entire month of July last year.
The combined Russian missile and drone attacks on July 9 killed at least eight people in Ukraine’s Sumy, Donetsk and Kherson regions, even as Ukrainian forces shot down all but 10 of the drones launched that day.The July 9 attack came a day after United States President Donald Trump said his administration would help send Ukraine more “defensive weapons”, just days after the Pentagon had said it was halting deliveries of some weapons to Ukraine, due to low stockpiles.“They have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump said, as he announced that European allies would finance Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine, from the US weapons company Raytheon. “They are getting hit very hard now,” he added.Russia’s heavy drone and missile attacks continued right up until the end of the month, with an attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on July 31 killing at least 31 people, including five children, and wounding 159 others.
