Russia continued its nightly bombardment of Ukrainian cities overnight into Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would send military equipment to Kyiv.

KYIV, July 9 (Reuters) - Russia targeted Ukraine with a record 728 drones early on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to send more defensive weapons to Kyiv and aimed unusually sharp criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on Friday in the largest aerial attack of the three-year war — just hours after President Trump admitted he was “disappointed” with his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia launched four missiles and 136 drones into Ukraine overnight into Monday morning, according to Ukraine's air force, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would provide Kyiv with more Patriot surface-to-air systems to help defend against Russia's nightly bombardments.

Russia carried out a massive drone strike on Ukraine during the night of July 15, launching nearly 300 UAVs, most of them Shahed drones, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. From the evening of July 14 to the morning of July 15,

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels to talk Ukraine support and sanctions on Russia. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with China's leader Xi Jinping, while European Union foreign ministers were gathering in Brussels for a summit that will discuss the bloc's support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Russia.