Russia unleashed its most intense attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its invasion Tuesday night – as experts warn the latest launch, prompting NATO jets to scramble into Polish airspace, is evidence of Moscow’s ramped-up lethal drone production.
Russia fired 728 Shahed and decoy drones along with 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, more than 200 above the previous record fired on Friday, July Fourth, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday
Christina Harward, a Russia analyst for the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank, told The Post that Tuesday’s barrage shows that Moscow is actively increasing its stockpile.
A fire rages following a Russian attack in the Kyiv region on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. AP
A firefighter puts out a fire in Kyiv on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. AP
“When we see record after record being broken nearly every week, it indicates that Moscow has scaled up its production and has a larger stockpile in place, particularly with their new drones,” Harward said.
While Russia had originally relied on Iran to provide it with the Shaheds, Harward said the Kremlin has demonstrated that the drones are now made inside Russian factories, with deadly modifications.
“We’re seeing decoy drones, which made up about half of last night’s assault, now equipped with actual warheads to keep the Ukrainians guessing,” Harward said.
“Other drones are also being equipped with chemical weapons to cause damage even when they’re intercepted by Ukraine,” she added.
Ukrainian defenses deployed against Russian drones on July 9, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Moscow’s new Geran-2 drone, modeled after the Shaheds, has become the lynchpin of Russia’s escalating bombardments against Ukraine after Moscow began its mass production plan in 2023, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank.
The new drones are cheaper than their Iranian counterpart, giving Russia the ammo it needs to keep up the intense bombardments, the think tank explained.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces took aim at enemy air bases during the overnight attack and that “all the designated targets have been hit.”
Trump ripped Putin and threatened more sanctions against Russia. AP
However, Ukraine claimed it downed almost all of the drones, with only some of the hypersonic missiles getting through and hitting targets.
The city of Lutsk, home to key military airfields, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck, Ukraine said.
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At least one strike was around 100 miles from Ukraine’s border with Poland, which launched military jets along with “allied aviation” from other NATO nations.
Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting on July 8, 2025. Getty Images
“In accordance with applicable procedures, all available forces and resources at the disposal of the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces have been activated, duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness,” Poland’s military wrote on X.
“The measures taken are aimed at ensuring security in areas bordering the threatened regions.”
The major escalation came a day after President Trump ripped Putin while threatening tougher new sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs on countries that buy its oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
“We get a lot of bulls–t thrown at us by Putin,” said Trump, who also pledged more weapons to support Ukraine. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” the president told a cabinet meeting.
The overnight onslaught also came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet US envoy Keith Kellogg in Rome on Wednesday.
Zelensky called the airstrikes “a demonstrative attack … at a time when there have been so many attempts to achieve peace and cease-fire, but Russia rejects everything.”
“Our partners know how to apply pressure so that Russia will be forced to think about ending the war, not new strikes,” he said, calling for “biting sanctions” on Putin’s regime.
“Everyone who wants peace must act.”
Europe is also separately working on a new sanctions package against Moscow.
Harward said that Russia’s escalating attacks are likely aimed at putting pressure on Ukraine to accept a peace deal on its terms.
Moscow also hopes the attacks can help distract from the realities on the ground that have seen Russia’s invasion slow to a crawl along the frontline that has spanned more than 700 miles, the analysts added.
“It’s effectively a show of strength to scare Ukraine at the negotiating table,” Harward said. “Russia is basically saying, ‘Look up. Don’t look at the situation on the ground.’”