Russia has escalated its aerial campaign against Ukraine, launching one of its largest barrages in recent days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that between late Monday and early Tuesday, Russian forces targeted eight regions with at least 524 Iranian-made Shahed drones and close to two dozen ballistic and cruise missiles. The strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children, according to local authorities.
The central region of Dnipro bore the brunt of the attack, officials said. This barrage follows a pattern of intensified long-range strikes that have grown in scale after a May 9-11 ceasefire, requested by US President Donald Trump, failed to yield any lasting peace. Despite American diplomatic efforts, there is no sign of a peace deal taking shape.
Ukraine's Counteroffensive and Long-Range Capabilities
In response, Ukraine has continued its own long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory. Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces hit oil facilities and other strategic targets, killing at least four people, including three near Moscow, and wounding a dozen others. These attacks have increased pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose army is struggling to make progress on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Monday that the country has developed its first glide bomb, a weapon with a 250-kilogram warhead designed to strike heavy fortifications and command posts behind the front line. Ukrainian pilots are currently training with the weapon under combat conditions, marking a significant enhancement of Kyiv’s arsenal.
Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine’s long-range capabilities are changing the dynamics of the war. “Our long-range capabilities are significantly changing the situation — and, more broadly, the world’s perception of Russia’s war,” he wrote on X. “Many partners are now signalling that they see what is happening and how everything has changed — both in attitudes toward this war and in the reachability of Russian targets on Russian territory.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry countered that it had dealt Ukraine a massive blow overnight with precision ground- and sea-based missiles and drones, striking weapons factories, oil and energy facilities, and transport infrastructure. It claimed all designated targets were hit, though Kyiv has yet to confirm or respond.
The escalations come ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing later this week. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities continue to recover from the latest attacks, with rescue workers in Dnipro extinguishing fires in damaged residential buildings.
For more on the ongoing conflict, see our coverage of Russian Drone Barrage Hits Kharkiv Residential Area as Attacks Intensify and Belarus and Russia Conduct Joint Nuclear Drills as Kyiv Warns of Imminent Offensive.
