Ukraine Strikes Back After Russia Launches Largest Drone Assault of the War

In a crescendo of dramatics for ongoing war, Russia launched its largest air strike on Ukraine since the war began in 2022. Over 500 drones and 11 missiles struck Kyiv and other locations overnight July 4, killing at least two and wounding dozens. The attack during a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump was described as "deliberately massive and cynical" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The bombardment burned down houses, schools, and railway lines in Kyiv in huge numbers. Families took shelter in metro stations as air raid alarms and explosion sounds filled the evening. Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant briefly lost its external power supply, raising new concerns about nuclear security.

Ukraine responded by launching a drone strike against Russia's Borisoglebsk airfield in the Voronezh Oblast. The strike damaged Su-34 fighter-bombers and a glide bomb storage facility, showing Ukraine's growing capability to hit strategic targets deep within Russian territory.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Russian attack, threatening a "dangerous escalation" and calling for an immediate ceasefire. Diplomatic negotiations meanwhile remain at an impasse, with Trump admitting no breakthrough in his telephone conversation with Putin.

As both sides ratchet up their attacks, the war refuses to subside, and the humanitarian toll keeps rising.