Russia just dropped the heaviest aerial assault of the war. Kyiv took the hit. The numbers aren’t vague. Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed 539 drones and 11 missiles were launched overnight. That’s the largest single-day barrage since the invasion began in 2022. The timing wasn’t random. The first sirens hit minutes after Trump’s phone call with Putin ended. The call didn’t produce a ceasefire. It produced a firestorm.
The attack lasted seven hours. Explosions lit up the skyline. Families sheltered in metro stations. Acrid smoke blanketed six districts. At least 23 people were injured. One body was recovered from the wreckage of a high-rise. Forty apartment blocks were damaged. Five schools and kindergartens were hit. Poland’s embassy took a strike. Zelensky called it “deliberately massive and cynical.” He spoke to Trump hours later. They agreed to work on joint defense production. But the U.S. had already paused shipments of Patriot missiles. Kyiv is exposed.
Putin’s summer strategy is clear. Relentless pressure. Russia has massed 50,000 troops near Sumy. That’s three soldiers for every Ukrainian in the region. The front line stretches 750 miles. Ukraine’s forces are thin. Manpower shortages are real. Russia’s goal isn’t just territory. It’s attrition. Break morale. Grind down defenses. Force concessions.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is under fire. A bombshell claim from Rep. Adam Smith says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted weapons shipments without authorization. Eleven flights carrying artillery and interceptors were grounded. The excuse? Stockpile concerns. Smith says the numbers don’t back that up. NBC reports it was a unilateral move. Hegseth’s third attempt to freeze aid. The memo triggered internal chaos. The White House was caught off guard. Trump later said he was “disappointed” with Putin. But the weapons stayed grounded.
Then came the fall. Andrey Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia’s state oil pipeline monopoly, was found dead outside his Moscow penthouse. He had KGB ties. Studied at the General Staff Academy. His body landed on Rublevskoye Highway. Investigators found a note. Russian media calls it suicide. He’s the latest in a string of oil executives to fall from windows since 2022. Ravil Maganov. Mikhail Rogachev. Marina Yankina. All dead. All linked to energy or defense.
The MAG circles are buzzing. Media outlets say the U.S. is switching sides. Anne Applebaum wrote that Putin believes he can win because of American hesitation. The Trump administration paused shipments. Talks with Russia opened in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine. Zelensky called it the worst crisis in U.S.-Ukraine relations. The old motto was “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” That’s gone. Trump called Zelensky a “dictator without elections.” The White House is pushing Kyiv toward concessions. The shift is real.
Russia’s economy is bleeding. Inflation is high. Recession is looming. But Putin’s drone factories are running. Ukraine’s defenses are stretched. The U.S. is recalibrating. And the war is accelerating.
Sources:
https://www.metro.co.uk/2025/07/04/oil-tycoon-linked-kgb-mysteriously-falls-death-russia-23577493/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dem-makes-bombshell-claim-hegseth-125520256.html
https://politicalwire.com/2025/07/04/the-u-s-is-switching-sides/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-attack-trump-putin-call/