Ukraine war: Russian strikes damage Kharkiv maternity ward

Russia has unleashed massive air strikes into Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine this week, with US President Donald Trump saying he was not happy with the situation and would have a "major statement" to make on Monday.

Trump told NBC News in a phone interview that he and NATO leaders had reached an agreement in which NATO allies would pay for US weapons then sent to Ukraine.

"We’re going to be sending Patriots to NATO, and then NATO will distribute that," Trump said, according to NBC News.

Meanwhile, in Rome, more than 80 heads of state and goverment (either in person or virtually) attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needed more air defense systems, and Germany said it is ready to buy US-made Patriot systems for Ukraine. 

Ukraine said its drones struck a Russian fighter aircraft plant in the Moscow region and a missile production facility in the Tula region, causing explosions and fires at both.

Ukraine's military said on Telegram the aviation facility in the town of Lukhovitsy, about 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Moscow, produced MiG fighters.

The other site was the Instrument Design Bureau, which specialised in producing anti-aircraft missiles and missile-gun systems, it said.

"Defence forces continue to take all steps to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force Russia to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine," said Ukraine's military. 

The Russian defence ministry said that 155 Ukrainian drones were downed between 11 p.m. on Thursday (2000 GMT) and 7 a.m. on Friday, including 11 bound for Moscow.

DW couldn't independently verify the claim. 

US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg on Friday announced that he would travel to Kyiv as Washington's attempts to bring Russia's war in Ukraine to an end continue.

"We'll be in Kyiv Monday. We'll be there all week," said Kellogg while speaking to reporters at the fourth international Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Rome, Italy.

Kellogg's announcement comes as US President Donald Trump signals frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin who refuses to end his invasion of neighboring Ukraine despite numerous entreaties from Trump to do so.

Trump, who had previously withheld arms deliveries to Kyiv, has now changed course, promising that US-made Patriot air defense systems would find their way to Ukraine.

Trump also teased a "major statement" on Russia, saying he would deliver remarks on Monday, though he offered no details.

Russian drones slammed into the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Friday, damaging a maternity ward at the country's second-largest hospital and forcing mothers with newborns to flee.

In all, nine injuries have been reported. 

"Amongst the injured are women in a maternity ward," wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media in a post listing other cities targeted and emphasizing the importance of robust air defense capability.

"There is no silence in Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote in his post.

Russia has been merciless in its scaled-up drone and missile assaults on Ukraine of late as President Vladimir Putin continues to flout US President Donald Trump's calls for a ceasefire.

According to the UN, 232 civilians were killed in Ukraine this June and a further 1,343 wounded — the highest numbers in three years of war. Russia also launched ten times as many drones this June than it did in June 2024. 

Until recently, US President Trump has been viewed as soft on Russian President Putin but he has signaled impatience of late, calling Putin's words "worthless." He recently announced that he would be making "a major statement" on Russia on Monday.

It is unclear whether the statement will have anything to do with either the economic sanctions or the air-defense weaponry that Kyiv seeks from the US in its struggle to fend off Russia.

One person has been killed and another injured in a Ukrainian strike in Russia's Tula region, according to a local governor.

Governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Telegram that Russian air defense units destroyed 12 drones in the region, situated around 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Moscow.

The announcement of the death in Tula came after reports of another person being killed by a Ukrainian drone in Lipetsk.

Ukraine has launched attacks on strategically important targets, including airfields and ammo caches, however, in the past few weeks, Russia has stepped up its campaign of nightly attacks involving hundreds of drones and missiles.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday morning that over 150 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight.

It said in a Telegram post that between 11 p.m. Moscow time (2000 GMT) on July 10 and 7 a.m. on July 11, air defenses intercepted and destroyed 155 unmanned aerial vehicles.

The drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, as well as in Kursk, Bryansk, Smolensk, Belgorod and Crimea, among others, the statement said.

A drone crashed into a farming area in western Russia on Friday, killing one person and injuring another, the regional governor said.

"Tonight a drone fell on the territory of one of the agricultural enterprises in Khlevensky district. As a result, a fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished," Lipetsk regional governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.

The crash happened around 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the south of Moscow.

It was not immediately clear if the crash was the result of a Ukrainian drone being shot down by Russian forces or simply a Ukrainian strike.

Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched more drone and ballistic missile attacks overnight. 

The strikes come as Russia has significantly stepped up its air onslaught this week. On Wednesday, it launched its largest drone attack since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

In multiple posts on Telegram, the Ukrainian Air Force said missiles were fired at the eastern regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk.  

The air force also said "several groups" of drones had struck Donetsk, while another had hit the Lyubotyn area of Kharkiv, a northeastern region bordering Russia.

Drone attacks were also registered in Mykolaiv and Sumy region.

In the series of posts, Ukraine also said it had detected a "threat of ballistic weapons from the northeast."

There were no reports of whether the air strikes had struck any of their targets, or if there were any casualties or damage.

In an interview with US broadcaster NBC News on Thursday, Donald Trump said he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, without providing further details on what that announcement would entail.

"I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," the US president said.

Trump this week has expressed his growing frustration with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after the pair spoke on the phone this week.

Russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes on Ukraine this week, with at least two people killed and over 25 injured in Kyiv on Thursday.

During the interview, Trump also said the US was sending weapons to NATO, adding that the Atlantic Alliance would "100%" be paying for the weapons.

The US president also addressed a proposed bipartisan bill — promoted by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal — that would slap more sanctions on Russia.

"They’re going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it’s up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it,” Trump said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with two US senators on Thursday night to discuss improving his country's air defense and toughening sanctions against Russia.

In a post on social media early, Zelenskyy said he had met with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

Graham and Blumenthal are the co-sponsors of a bipartisan bill that calls for a 500% tariff on goods from countries that are still buying Russian oil, gas and uranium, among other exports.

The bill would target countries like China and India, which make up for around 70% of Russian energy exports, which are helping fund Moscow's war in Ukraine.

"Undoubtedly, this is precisely the lever that can bring peace closer and make diplomacy worthwhile," Zelenksyy said.

"Right now, our priority is strengthening air defences. Russia wants to move on to using 1,000 drones in the space of a single attack," he added.

"It is therefore important to boost defences, particularly to invest in interceptor drones. We spoke about continuing supplies from the United States and joint weapons production."

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine was willing to work together with its European allies to buy "large US Defence packages."

On Thursday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had reached an agreement with Germany for Berlin to purchase two US-made Patriot missile defense systems.

The White House said on July 1 that it was pausing shipments of some air defense and precision guided weapons that were due to be sent to Ukraine, but appeared to reverse course amid Russia's ongoing and intensifying air strikes this week.
 

Welcome back to DW's coverage of the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Rome on Thursday to attend an international conference on Ukraine's recovery, amid ongoing efforts to drum up support for Kyiv and toughen sanctions against Russia.

Participants at the conference pledged over €10 billion ($11.7 billion) to help with Ukraine's economic recovery, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.

After meeting with the leaders of several of Ukraine's European and international allies, Zelenskyy met with two US senators who are promoting a bipartisan bill that would impose a 500% tariff on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian energy and other exports.

The diplomatic efforts come as Moscow has ramped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine this week. Ukrainian authorities reported more drone and missile strikes overnight on Friday. 

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said he will deliver a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, without providing further details.

Trump said this week he was "disappointed and frustrated" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress in peace talks.

Read more about developments on Thursday related to Russia's war in Ukraine.