KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — Russia launched its most extensive drone assault of the war, targeting Ukraine with 479 drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as hostilities intensified amid faltering peace efforts and a renewed Russian offensive.
The unprecedented aerial barrage — the largest in the more than three-year conflict — included 20 missiles of various types, the air force reported. The attacks mainly targeted central and western regions of Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian officials, air defenses intercepted 277 of the drones and 19 of the missiles. Only 10 drones or missiles reportedly hit their intended targets, causing limited damage. One person was injured, authorities said.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The assault came as Russian ground forces escalated their summer campaign in eastern and northeastern sectors along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that the situation in some of those areas remains “very difficult,” though he did not elaborate.
Ukraine continues to face critical shortages in personnel and equipment, particularly in air defense capabilities, as delays in Western military aid persist. Questions over future U.S. assistance have further heightened Kyiv’s sense of vulnerability.
The aerial escalation has coincided with the first rounds of direct peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in more than a year. Talks held in Istanbul have produced little progress beyond agreements to exchange prisoners and repatriate remains of dead and wounded soldiers.
Ukraine says Russia continues to target civilian infrastructure with Iranian-made Shahed drones. The United Nations estimates more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the war began, although Moscow insists it aims only at military objectives.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has ramped up its own long-range drone strikes, penetrating deep into Russian territory.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Monday that its forces downed 49 Ukrainian drones across seven regions overnight. Two drones reportedly struck a facility that manufactures electronic warfare equipment in Chuvashia, more than 600 kilometers east of Moscow.
In Voronezh, regional governor Alexander Gusev reported that 25 drones were intercepted, but a gas pipeline was damaged, sparking a minor fire.
In a separate development, Ukraine’s General Staff said its special operations forces carried out a strike on two Russian fighter jets stationed at Savasleyka airfield in Russia’s Novgorod region, roughly 650 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not detail how the aircraft were targeted.
