JAKARTA - Russia attacked Ukraine with a record 728 drones overnight, shortly after US President Donald Trump promised to send more defense weapons to Kyiv and made unusual direct criticisms against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, July 9, Ukraine's air defense units destroyed nearly all drones, including those using electronic exhaust systems, the Ukrainian Air Force said through the Telegram messaging app.
The attack, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, showed the need for "hard" sanctions against Russian sources of income to finance the war, including those buying Russian oil.
Trump said on Tuesday he was considering supporting a bill in the Senate that would impose severe sanctions on Russia, including a 500% tariff on countries buying oil, gas, uranium, and other Russian exports.
"We received a lot of nonsense from Putin. He was always very good, but it turned out to be meaningless," Trump told a cabinet meeting.
When asked by a journalist what action he would take against Putin, Trump said: "I won't tell you. We want a little surprise."
Separately, Europe is working on a new sanctions package against Moscow.
Trump shifted US rhetoric from strong support for Kyiv to accepting some of Moscow's justifications for its full-scale invasion by 2022.
However, the initial round of talks between Russia and Ukraine so far has yet to come to fruition, as Moscow has not yet accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposed by Trump and accepted by Kyiv.
The US president's pledge to supply more defense weapons reversed the Pentagon's decision a few days earlier to delay some of Ukraine's critical supplies of ammunition, despite Russia's increasing attacks that spread fears in Kyiv.
Following Trump's new pledge, Zelensky said he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure important shipments of military supplies, especially air defenses.
Trump's envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg will be in Rome on Wednesday to attend an international aid conference on July 10-11 on Ukraine, attended by Zelenskiy and European ally Kyiv.
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