This week, fighting continued to rage all along the front lines. Russia continued to pound Ukrainian cities and towns deep in the rear with missiles and drones.
Russian drone strikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia on Monday caused widespread destruction and damaged military recruitment centers. Dozens of people were injured in both cities, with one person killed in Kharkiv. Russia has been systematically targeting Ukraine’s draft offices.
Russia is stepping up its night-time attacks on Ukraine. It launched its largest drone attack of the war on the country overnight into Wednesday, with 728 drones and 13 missiles used in the bombardment. Russia pummeled Kyiv with drones and missiles overnight on Thursday, killing two people and wounding at least 28 others.
Ukraine’s intelligence said Russia is increasingly replacing Western-made parts inside its attack drones with the Chinese ones. In its strike drones recovered in May 2025, the share of parts that originate from China rose to 60-65 per cent, it said.
Ukraine continues to hold defensive positions and conduct strikes deep inside Russia. Ukrainian troops have restored positions in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions and are holding land there, Ukraine’s top commander said on Tuesday. Ukrainian drones targeted the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Monday. The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said it had used unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground vehicles only to recapture positions in Kharkiv region and take Russian troops captive.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure with his latest phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The U.S. is sending more defensive weapons to Ukraine, the Pentagon said on Monday. Trump promised to immediately send 10 Patriot missiles to Ukraine after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Friday, Axios said. A U.S. delegation was present for the first time at a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Rome on Thursday.
Ukraine and the UK concluded a historic deal to supply Ukraine with 5,000 Thales air defense missiles. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the creation of the European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. The European Court of Human Rights found Russia responsible for international law violations in Ukraine and the downing of MH17 in the extensive inter-state case “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia.”
Trump says he struck deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO
U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC on Thursday he struck a deal with NATO for the U.S. to send weapons to Ukraine through the alliance, and that NATO will pay for those weapons “a hundred percent.”
“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, a hundred percent,” the president told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in a phone interview Thursday. “We’re going to be sending Patriots to NATO, and then NATO will distribute that,” he said, according to a round up by CNN.
Both NBC News and CNN have reached out to NATO for comment.
In his Thursday interview with NBC News, the U.S. president also previewed that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday but did not provide additional details. “I’m disappointed in Russia … a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” the president said.
Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Thursday, with one saying they could be worth around USD 300 million.
