Ukraine’s Air Force reported on Wednesday that Russian forces launched their largest air assault since the start of the full-scale invasion, firing 741 drones and missiles overnight in a coordinated attack across multiple regions.
In a post on social media, the strikes targeted critical infrastructure and population centers, with confirmed impacts at four locations and debris from intercepted weapons falling in 14 areas.
“From 8:00 p.m. on July 8, the enemy launched 728 Shahed-type attack drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles, along with cruise and ballistic missiles,” the Air Force said.
According to the statement, the aerial assault originated from multiple directions, including Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk, Oryol, and Millerovo inside Russia. Cruise missile launches came from Engels air base in Saratov and Kursk regions, while six Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles were fired from Russian airspace over Lipetsk.
The main focus of the attack appeared to be the military airbase in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk in Volyn Oblast.
The Ukrainian Air Force credited its success in intercepting the majority of targets to coordinated efforts by combat aviation, surface-to-air missile units, electronic warfare systems, drone units, and mobile fire teams from Ukraine’s defense forces.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Air Force underscored the scale of the overnight assault. “This was the largest air attack since February 2022 in terms of the number of air assault weapons used,” the post said.
Officials also noted that the previous record for a Russian drone assault was set just days earlier, when 539 unmanned aerial vehicles were launched in a single operation.
Despite the high interception rate, authorities confirmed that several targets were hit. Damage assessments are ongoing, and local officials have not yet reported casualties.
Russia has intensified its aerial campaign in recent weeks, using Shahed drones and cruise missiles in a bid to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense systems. Ukrainian officials have warned that such large-scale barrages are designed to exhaust their limited stockpiles of interceptor missiles.
The Air Force did not provide further details on the four confirmed strike locations or the extent of destruction caused by falling debris from intercepted weapons. However, images shared on Ukrainian channels showed scattered wreckage of drones in open fields and burned-out fragments of cruise missiles.