AP Kyiv

Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said on Wednesday, in the latest escalation after weeks of mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war. Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were struck, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Western regions of Ukraine are a crucial logistical backbone in the war, as airfields and depots there receive vital foreign military aid before forwarding it to other parts. Russian long-range attacks have sought to hit the supply corridors. Ukraine’s air defences shot down 296 drones and 7 missiles during the overnight attack, while 415 more drones were lost from radars or jammed.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces took aim at Ukrainian air bases and “all the designated targets have been hit”. Moscow launched its previous largest aerial assault late on July 4 night into the following day, with the biggest prior to that less than a week ago.

“Everyone who wants peace must act,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader was due to meet Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday during a visit to Italy. Two people were wounded in Kyiv during the overnight barrage, officials said, as emergency crews continued to assess the damage.

Poland scrambled its fighter jets and put its armed forces on the highest level of alert. Russia said air defences downed 86 Ukrainian drones over 6 Russian regions overnight, including Moscow. Alexander Khinshtein, said a Ukrainian drone attack on the region’s capital before midnight killed 3 people and wounded 7, including a 5-year-old boy.