US advances $2.7B arms sale to Ukraine as Russian strikes kill 11, injure at least 64

The State Department has approved a potential $2.7 billion sale of air defense systems to Ukraine as Russian attacks killed 11 people and wounded at least 64 others across the war-torn country overnight.The massive weapons package would include numerous types of missiles, laser-guided missile systems and counter-drone technology.The arms transfer, which would be funded by European contributions and US aid approved during the Biden administration, will proceed unless Congress objects within 30 days.The US move comes as Russia unleashed a drone barrage overnight into Saturday that struck 15 locations across Ukraine — with children among both the dead and wounded — according to the Kyiv Independent.Ukrainian air defences managed to shoot down 138 out of the 174 drones, which included Shahed “suicide” drones first developed by Iran.Poland scrambled military jets and activated its air defense systems in response to the Russian drone onslaught on Ukraine Saturday, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command said.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk previously issued a chilling warning that Russia was plotting hybrid strikes on Ukraine’s neighbors as the nearly four-year-long war continues to drag on.“There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction,” Tusk told the Polish parliament in a speech Thursday.

The US has also taken steps in recent days to increase pressure on Moscow, with President Trump on Friday signing the sweeping Russian sanctions bill sponsored by the late South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham into law.The Lindsey O.

Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 allows the US to impose targeted tariffs up to 100% on the biggest importers of Russian oil, the profits of which have fueled President Vladimir Putin’s war machine on Kyiv.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted a summit of regional leaders Friday to discuss deepenin...