Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine stretched deep into the country’s western regions. It comes as Donald Trump promised a “major statement” on Russia on Monday. Follow the latest below.
Saturday 12 July 2025 23:09, UK
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It’s 11pm in the UK, 1am in Kyiv and Moscow.
We’re pausing our live coverage for now. Before we go, here’s a summary of today’s developments:
Russia launched one of its heaviest aerial attacks of the war so far, striking regions across Ukraine.
Kyiv’s air force recorded 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones fired at the country, with more than 20 missiles and the “vast majority” of drones destroyed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine’s president called on allies to provide more air defence systems to Ukraine and invest in its interceptor drones.
“This war can only be stopped through strength,” he said. “We expect not just signals from our partners, but actions that will save lives.”
Meanwhile, Poland’s air force said the country scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace amid the attack.
“Duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness,” it said.
Over in North Korea, Russia’s foreign minister travelled to the coastal city of Wonsan, known for its missile and naval facilities.
He met his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui and the country’s leader Kim Jong Un.
“I am delighted to see you,” Lavrov told the North Korean leader.
He said Vladimir Putin sent his “warm greetings” and reaffirmed his commitment to all previous agreements between the two countries.
Lavrov also described his country’s relationship with North Korea as “an invincible fighting brotherhood” during his visit.
But his trip came at a key time, as reports suggest North Korea is set to triple the number of its troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
According to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment seen by CNN, North Korea will send between 25,000 and 30,000 soldiers to assist Moscow.
Throughout the day, we’ve been bringing you updates on the Russian foreign minister’s visit to North Korea.
Sergei Lavrov signed documents alongside his North Korean counterpart before talks with Kim Jong Un.
Take a look at Lavrov’s visit to the city of Wonsan in the pictures below.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “changes in state institutions” as he said Ukraine “needs more positive momentum” with the US after meeting his defence minister (see 18.55 post).
But could Rustem Umerov be the man to do that job?
Ukraine’s president has said that he was considering appointing his defence minister as Ukraine’s next ambassador to the US with Oksana Markarova leaving her role.
The Kyiv Independent is reporting that Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal, deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna and energy minister Herman Halushchenko are also in contention.
Zelenskyy said the US ambassador will need to be “strong and to be in the context of the most important thing, in the context of strengthening Ukraine – through weapons first of all”.
“Therefore, one of my ideas is that it can be Ukraine’s defence minister,” he said.
A source familiar with the situation told the Kyiv Independent on Monday that the possibility of a new ambassador was discussed during the recent call between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to continue Ukraine’s “active drone operations” on Russian territory after Moscow launched one of its largest aerial attacks of the war so far.
“The Russians continue to use a specific tactic of terror against Ukraine – saturated strikes on cities and regions, trying to have around 300 shahed drones per attack,” Ukraine’s president said in his nightly address.
“They also use hundreds of special shahed-imitator drones in each strike, the purpose of which is to overwhelm air defence and impede the downing of shaheds.”
Zelenskyy labelled this as Russia’s “deliberate and vile terror”.
“We will continue our active drone operations on Russian territory in response to their attacks,” he added.
“As always, we will act asymmetrically and effectively.”
Earlier, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s air force recorded 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones fired at the country, with more than 20 missiles and the “vast majority” of drones destroyed (see 8.14 post).
The head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential office has said Ukrainian soldiers killed a group of Russian drone operators after the death of a one-year-old boy earlier this week.
The New York Post reported that the boy was playing in his grandmother’s yard in the Pravdyne village when the drone hit.
Andriy Yermak has posted on social media site X, saying Ukraine’s defence forces “eliminated a crew of Russian drone operators responsible” for the boy’s death.
“Our soldiers directed five FPV (first person view) drones into the window of the house where the Russian war criminals were hiding,” he added.
Back to Ukraine now, where crews have been tackling fires at damaged buildings across the country after Russia’s overnight strikes.
Scroll through the pictures below to see how the strikes have left buildings and vehicles in Lviv.
Despite Donald Trump’s public frustration with Vladimir Putin (see previous post), the Russian president has reportedly told Iran to accept a US nuclear deal.
Putin has privately signalled support for a deal that would prevent Iran from enriching uranium, sources familiar with the talks told Axios.
Russia has backed Iran on the nuclear issue for years, but Moscow is now reported to have urged Iran to agree to “zero enrichment”.
The reported change in Putin’s stance comes after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which also saw the US carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Donald Trump was publicly frustrated with Vladimir Putin this week, telling reporters “we get a lot of bull**** thrown at us” by his Russian counterpart.
“He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he added.
Trump previously claimed he always had a “very good relationship” with Russia’s president, and the pair have long used a policy of flattery towards each other.
Nicholas Grossman, political science professor at the University of Illinois, wrote an opinion piece for our US partner network NBC explaining what may have caused Trump to turn on Putin.
“Most likely, what’s frustrating Trump is that events aren’t following his reality TV script, or his Russia-sympathetic conspiracy theories,” he said.
“He promised he’d end the war on his first day back in office, using pressure on the Ukrainians and his personal rapport with Putin to stop the fighting, and get himself a Nobel Peace Prize.
“Now that self-aggrandising fantasy is crashing into reality.”
Trump put Putin above US national interests, but Putin hasn’t returned the favour, Grossman explained.
“If anything, Putin seems to enjoy these displays of dominance, toying with Trump rather than giving him a fig leaf,” he added.
“It may have finally been too much.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been meeting his defence minister Rustem Umerov after Russia launched one of its largest strikes of the war on Ukraine overnight.
“I instructed that all available volumes of priority drone types be contracted, and we are also working separately with European partners on financing,” he wrote in a post on X.
“This year, we must by far exceed the originally planned production and supply targets for drones to the military.”
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is preparing “unconventional steps” to strengthen its defence.
“Ukraine needs more positive momentum in relations with the United States, and at the same time, new steps are required in managing our national defence sector,” he added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were fired at Ukraine overnight in one of the heaviest aerial attacks of the war so far.
Watch the video below to see damage caused to buildings after the strikes.
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