The assault left Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, wrapped in smoke from fires early Friday, though the authorities reported little damage and it was not immediately clear what had burned. Officials said residential buildings had been damaged in five neighborhoods.
Russia has been ramping up drone attacks in recent months with record numbers launched almost weekly. As they did on Friday, the attacks typically combine exploding drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, and decoys intended to confuse or overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin spoke by phone shortly before the air-raid alerts went off in Kyiv. After the call, Mr. Trump told reporters, “I didn’t make any progress with him at all.” There was no clear link between the timing of the air assault and the call, which was at least the sixth between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin this year.
Friday’s attack was the first large-scale volley from Russia since the Trump administration said this week that it would withhold some of the air defense missiles and other weapons that the United States had promised to the Ukrainian military. Those supplies had been expected in the coming weeks or months.
Ukraine relies on U.S.-made Patriot missiles as its only defense against some types of Russian ballistic missiles, although it has an array of other European-provided and domestically produced defenses against cruise missiles and drones.
In his statement about his call with Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelensky said the two had agreed that lower-level officials would meet to consider bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses. They also discussed joint ventures in defense industries, Mr. Zelensky said.
In total, Russia fired 539 drones and 11 missiles overnight. It was the largest number of drones and the largest overall aerial attack of the war, according to air force figures. It was not clear how many of the drones were decoys. The previous record came on June 29, with the air force reporting 537 aerial targets of all types in a single attack.
Many drones on Friday flew through air defenses on the approach to and outskirts of Kyiv and were shot down over the city. Gunfire and explosions rang out through the night, along with the noise of the small piston engines of the drones.
By about 4 a.m. in Kyiv, the authorities had reported damage in five neighborhoods. Nineteen people were injured, according to Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. In the morning, smoke shrouded the city.
Ever-larger volleys are now weekly occurrences. Russia has invested in and ramped up industrial production of Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which are about 12 feet long, carry a warhead of about 80 pounds, can fly hundreds of miles and are launched at Ukraine in waves of hundreds.
Ukraine accepted a cease-fire agreement proposed by the United States in March. Russia did not accept the proposal and although Mr. Trump suggested he might impose additional sanctions, he has resisted doing so. The barrage Friday came as Ukrainian officials said they were surprised and shaken by the Trump administration’s decision to pause deliveries of air defense interceptors and other weapons.
