Overview

• On July 9, Russia unleashed over 700 drones alongside Iskander and Kinzhal missiles in its largest single-day aerial offensive since 2022, striking Lutsk and damaging sites across ten regions including Kyiv and Kharkiv.
• Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted 718 of 728 drones and all seven Iskander cruise missiles, but remaining warheads and debris struck Kyiv, killing two civilians and wounding 16 more.
• During Rome’s reconstruction summit, President Zelenski called for a postwar “Marshall Plan” even as he pressed allies to fast-track interceptor drones and surface-to-air missile systems.
• President Trump confirmed a new NATO-backed arms package for Ukraine—comprising Patriot batteries, 155 mm artillery rounds and GMLRS rockets—after a Pentagon pause on key shipments.
• U.S.-Russia diplomatic channels showed no breakthrough as Secretary of State Rubio described a “frank” meeting with Lavrov, committed to relaying Moscow’s untested peace proposal to Washington.