Swarms of Russian drones attack Ukraine nightly

The long-range Russian drones come in swarms each night, buzzing for hours over Ukraine by the hundreds, terrorizing the population and attacking targets from the industrial east to areas near its western border with Poland.

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Russia now often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record.

Some experts say that number could soon top 1,000 a day.

The spike comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has given Russia until early September to reach a ceasefire or face new sanctions — a timeframe Moscow is likely to use to inflict as much damage as possible on Ukraine.

Russia has sharply increased its drone output and appears to keep ramping it up. Initially importing Shahed drones from Iran early in the 3 1/2-year-old war, Russia has boosted its domestic production and upgraded the original design.

The Russian Defense Ministry says it’s turning its drone force into a separate military branch. It also has established a dedicated center for improving drone tactics and better training for those flying them.

Fighting ‘a war of drones’