Russia carried out its largest airstrike since the start of the war in Ukraine, launching nearly 500 drones and dozens of missiles overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The assault comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine reported that Russia fired 477 drones and 60 ballistic and cruise missiles targeting southern, central and western regions of the country. One person was killed in a drone strike in the southern Kherson region and six others—including a child—were injured in the central Cherkasy region.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
(Photo: Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/ AP, AFP / JOHN HAMILTON / US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE)
In the western Lviv region, near the Polish border, a drone strike triggered a massive fire at a factory in the city of Drohobych, causing power outages across parts of the city. Poland and its NATO allies scrambled fighter jets as a precaution, though no violations of Polish airspace were reported.
Ukraine’s military said it downed 211 drones and 37 missiles during the attack. An additional 225 drones were described as “lost,” a term used by Ukraine to refer to drones diverted by electronic warfare or those sent as decoys without explosive payloads.
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Drone warfare has become a defining feature of the war, with both sides deploying increasingly advanced and lethal unmanned aerial vehicles. The fighting has turned into a testing ground for emerging weapons technology. Russia’s military also reported that it intercepted three Ukrainian drones overnight.
Among the casualties was a Ukrainian pilot flying an F-16 fighter jet—one of the Western-supplied aircraft Ukraine recently began deploying. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the pilot shot down seven aerial targets before his jet was damaged. “He did everything he could but didn’t have time to eject,” the statement said. This marks the third Ukrainian F-16 lost in combat.
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Damages to residential buidlings in Cherkasy region
(Photo: National Police of Ukraine in Cherkasy region/Handout via REUTERS)
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was open to a new round of peace talks in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accusing Putin of prolonging the war despite international calls for peace.
U.S.-led mediation efforts have so far failed to yield results. Russia, which controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory, continues its bombardment of cities and villages with no sign of de-escalation. Two previous rounds of negotiations in Istanbul ended quickly with no significant progress.