Ukraine fired as many as 390 drones into the Moscow region in a ten-hour onslaught overnight, with just 81 intercepted, as Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to fly to Washington for a meeting with Donald Trump. The attack, which lasted from 8.30pm to dawn, set a logistics warehouse ablaze in the village of Koledino, 12 miles south of Moscow, next to a storage facility for Russian online retail giant Wildberries — a company Kyiv officials accuse of being part of the Kremlin's defence supply chain.
The barrage came hours after Zelensky stood alongside new UK prime minister Andy Burnham at a naval base in Portsmouth, where Burnham declared it was “no accident” the Ukrainian president was his first international visitor since entering No 10. “We are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full,” Burnham told him. The prime minister announced the sharing of the intellectual property behind the UK’s “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system — tablet-sized jammers designed to block drone detection — enabling Ukraine to produce the technology at scale. “It will help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives,” Burnham said.
“Ukraine launches 390 drones at Moscow as Zelensky wins UK backing from Burnham before crucial Trump meeting.”
The two leaders also met more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel who had spent the past three weeks taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a maritime exercise aimed at strengthening warfighting capabilities in the Black Sea. Burnham pledged the UK would support a “full and unconditional ceasefire”, adding: “We will keep up the pressure, pushing for a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations which must have Ukraine at the table and include a strong voice for Europe too.”
Zelensky, who described the UK relationship as “stronger than ever”, later posted from the United States: “Our schedule includes meetings with President Trump, his team, and those who can support our defence. Our number-one priority is anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America.” He also planned to attend the funeral of Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Ukraine supporter whose final act as a public official was to visit Kyiv and secure a new Russian sanctions package.
The meeting with Trump comes as Ukraine’s strikes inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks. Ukrainian drones also struck Belgorod and cities in southern Russia overnight on 27 July, injuring 12 people and setting a residential building and 15 parked cars ablaze.
Burnham’s inner circle has suggested his priority will be domestic — but his first week in office already suggests the world has other plans.