Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that interceptor drones had proved effective in downing many Russian drones deployed in an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv and issued a new call for their rapid development and production.

Russia launched a record number of drones at Ukraine overnight into Friday, striking multiple buildings and residential areas, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had made “no progress” towards a ceasefire deal in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Two Dutch intelligence agencies say that Russia is increasing its use of prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine including the World War I-era poison gas chloropicrin.

Dutch and German intelligence agencies have gathered evidence of widespread Russian use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, they said on Friday.

Dutch intelligence services, together with German intelligence, have found that Russia is systematically escalating the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, the Netherlands Military Intelligence (MIVD) reported on July 4.

The reactions to the Trump administration’s decision to pause some weapons shipments to Ukraine couldn’t be more illustrative of the conflict: welcomed by the Kremlin, branded “inhumane” by Kyiv.