Russia and Ukraine trade drone strikes as Kyiv signs deals to boost drone production
Published: 07 Jul. 2025, 10:01
![A fragment of a Russian drone with the writing ″Geran-2″ lies on the ground at a residential area following Russia's missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 10. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/07/b3e59eef-87c8-4d1a-84ef-8ce601b310b0.jpg)
A fragment of a Russian drone with the writing ″Geran-2″ lies on the ground at a residential area following Russia's missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 10. [AP/YONHAP]
Photos circulating on social media showed crowds huddling at Russian airports including key international hubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Saturday and overnight, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry.
The flight disruptions hit Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s main Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions.
Russian air defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian drones during the nighttime attacks, and 39 more before 2 p.m. on Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It did not clarify how many had hit targets, or how many had been launched in total.
Early on Sunday, Ukrainian drones injured two civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region near the border, its Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The Ukrainian attacks came just days after Russia pummelled Kyiv with waves of drones and missiles overnight into Friday, in what Ukrainian officials called the largest such strike since Moscow’s all-out invasion. The seven-hour onslaught killed at least two civilians, wounded dozens more and caused widespread damage, Ukraine said, while Moscow ramped up its push to capture more of its neighbor’s land.
In total, Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine that night, according to the country’s air force. The barrages have coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 620-mile front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.
Large-scale Russian drone strikes on Sunday injured three civilians in Kyiv and at least two in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast, officials said. A Russian attack involving Shahed drones also targeted port infrastructure in Mykolaiv in central Ukraine, according to local Gov. Vitaliy Kim. He reported warehouses and the port’s power grid were damaged but there were no casualties.
![A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on July 2, 2025. Photo handout from Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/07/fdfcaae4-c34a-40b4-a111-8851c61b5c61.jpg)
A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on July 2, 2025. Photo handout from Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces [REUTERS/YONHAP]
Hours later, Russia launched a glide bomb and a drone at the frontline town of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine, killing four civilians and injuring a fifth, the prosecutor’s office said. The drone struck a car in which a married couple were travelling, killing the 39-year-old woman and 40-year-old man on the spot, it said.
Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year.
Zelensky did not name the U.S. business in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, but said Ukraine and Denmark have also agreed to co-produce drones and other weapons on Danish soil.
His remarks came days after the U.S. paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles. Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelensky said plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time .
Ukraine has previously used homemade drones to hit high-value military targets deep inside Russia, demonstrating its capabilities and denting Moscow’s confidence. Last month, Kyiv said it destroyed more than 40 Russian planes stationed at several airfields deep inside Russia in a surprise attack.
Outmanned and outgunned, Ukraine’s army has also turned to drones to compensate for its troop shortage and shore up its defenses. While Russia has ramped up offensives this summer on two fronts in Ukraine, analysts say the front isn’t about to collapse.
On Friday, Zelensky said he had a “very important and productive” phone call that day with U.S. President Donald Trump, discussing possible joint drone production alongside U.S-led efforts to end the war .
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump described the call as “good”.
“He’s been hit very hard, as I said he would. He’s been hit very hard,” he said.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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