The US and Ukraine are discussing a “mega deal” for Washington to purchase battle-tested drones from eastern Europe in exchange for American heavy weaponry.

Shahed-style drones are deadly systems that Russia has been using to strike Ukrainian cities for nearly three years.

Kyiv’s European allies have welcomed the EU’s 18th sanctions package targeting Moscow’s oil and gas industry over its war in Ukraine.French pesident Emmanuel Macron said the package was “unprecedented” in a post on X.

Russia has repeatedly shattered its own records for aerial assaults on Ukraine this summer, culminating in a peak attack on July 9 with the launch of 728 Shahed-type drones. Throughout the war, Russia steadily expanded the reach and intensity of its strikes on Ukrainian cities,

Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, along with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukraine's air force said.

Ukraine’s military commander in charge of the country’s drone warfare program urged the US and NATO countries alike on Wednesday to learn from Kyiv’s use of the technology on the battlefield so in the future there are not “hard questions from your children [about] when [their] father will come back.