Russia Hits Ukraine With Large Air Barrage Hours After Trump-Putin Call

It was the latest in a series of almost weekly large-scale missile and drone attacks. President Trump said he “didn’t make any progress” with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Russia attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Friday with the largest number of drones and missiles launched in a single barrage so far in the war, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, just hours after a phone call between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The assault left Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, wrapped in smoke from fires early Friday. The Russian drones and falling debris from air defense intercepts damaged the consular section of the Polish Embassy in Kyiv and China’s consulate in Odesa, in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said residential buildings had been damaged in five neighborhoods in the capital.

Russia has been ramping up drone attacks in recent months with record numbers launched almost weekly. As they did on Friday, the attacks typically combine exploding drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, and decoys intended to confuse or overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin spoke by phone shortly before the air-raid alerts went off in Kyiv. After the call, Mr. Trump told reporters, “I didn’t make any progress with him at all.” There was no clear link between the timing of the air assault and the call, which was at least the sixth between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin this year.

After the strikes on Friday, Mr. Trump spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian president’s office. The two discussed Friday’s aerial barrage and air defenses, the office said in a statement, without providing further details.

Friday’s attack was the first large-scale volley from Russia since the Trump administration said this week that it would withhold some of the air defense missiles and other weapons that the United States had promised to the Ukrainian military. Those supplies had been expected in the coming weeks or months.

Ukraine relies on U.S.-made Patriot missiles as its only defense against some types of Russian ballistic missiles, although it has an array of other European-provided and domestically produced defenses against cruise missiles and drones.

In its statement about the call with Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelensky’s office said the two leaders “agreed to work on increasing the protection of Ukrainian skies” but it did not address whether the Trump administration would resume supplying air defense weapons.

Ukraine’s air force said on Friday that Russia had launched one fast-flying ballistic missile called a Kinzhal, or Dagger. Ukraine can intercept Daggers only with the U.S.-made Patriots. Russia launched six other ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles, according to the air force, which said it had shot down two cruise missiles. It did not report downing any ballistic missiles.

In total, Russia fired 539 drones and 11 missiles overnight. It was the largest number of drones and the largest overall aerial attack of the war, according to air force figures. It was not clear how many of the drones were decoys. The previous record came on June 29, with the air force reporting 537 aerial targets of all types in a single attack.

Many drones on Friday flew through air defenses on the approach to and outskirts of Kyiv and were shot down over the city. Gunfire and explosions rang out through the night, along with the noise of the small piston engines of the drones. The attack killed one person and injured 26 others, including a child, officials said.

Ever-larger volleys are now weekly occurrences. Russia has invested in and ramped up industrial production of Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which are about 12 feet long, carry a warhead of about 80 pounds, can fly hundreds of miles and are launched at Ukraine in waves of hundreds.

In the phone call with Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin reiterated his insistence on Ukrainian concessions before any cease-fire can be put in place, according to a description of the call by Yuri Ushakov, a Russian foreign policy official. Mr. Trump has called for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire.

Ukraine accepted a cease-fire agreement proposed by the United States in March. Russia did not accept the proposal and although Mr. Trump suggested he might impose additional sanctions, he has resisted doing so.

Russia’s attack was one type of answer to Mr. Trump’s appeal for a cease-fire, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on X on Friday. “Putin clearly shows his complete disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war,” Mr. Sybiha wrote, adding that “he does it on purpose.”

Ukraine has recently taken a more forceful tone on Chinese economic and military aid for Russia and on Friday said investigators had found Chinese components in drone debris. The Chinese equipment, Mr. Sybiha wrote, aided the attack that had damaged the Chinese consulate. “There is no better metaphor for how Putin continues to escalate his war and terror while involving others,” he said.

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

• Top Russian General Killed: Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov, promoted to deputy head of the Russian Navy just a few months earlier, died in an apparent Ukrainian strike.
• Trump’s Call With Putin: President Trump said that a phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia had not resulted in any movement toward ending the war.
• Weapons Transfers Halted: The Trump administration said it had paused the delivery of some weapons to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns of dwindling stocks. The pause deepened Ukrainian concerns amid Russian attacks.
• Russian General Convicted: A top Russian general was convicted of embezzlement and jailed, state news media reported, in one of the highest-profile cases from a monthslong Kremlin campaign to root out military corruption amid the war in Ukraine.
• Cooking on the Front Line: This chef appeared on TV before joining the Ukrainian Army when Russia invaded. Now he makes his borscht for the country’s troops instead of cooking show judges.
• The Weapon Ukrainians Fear at Night: Russia’s long-range drone program has brought about a deadly new phase in the war.
• Resettled Ukrainians: The Trump administration suspended a temporary humanitarian program for Ukrainians. Now many are losing their ability to work, and fear deportation.

How We Verify Our Reporting

• Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs, videos and radio transmissions to independently confirm troop movements and other details.
• We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts.