In the latest escalation of long-range strikes, Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of 524 attack drones and 22 ballistic and cruise missiles targeting eight regions of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Monday. The assault wounded at least 26 civilians, including two children, according to Ukraine's emergency service.
Writing on X, Zelenskyy said the Dnipropetrovsk region bore the brunt of the six-hour bombardment, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings hit. Emergency crews were working where security allowed, he added. Damage was also reported in the Odesa, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
“Russia relies on ballistic missiles to strike people and that is precisely why we in Europe must do everything possible to ensure reliable protection against this,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Europe must have its own anti-ballistic systems and be self-sufficient in the face of these threats.”
Long-Range Strikes Intensify on Both Sides
The barrage continued a recent spiral of long-range attacks that have grown in scale following a 9–11 May ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump, which had little impact. There is no sign a peace deal is taking shape despite US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Last week, Russian strikes flattened a Kyiv apartment building, killing 24 people. In response, Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Russian territory, killing at least four people, including three near Moscow, and wounding a dozen others, authorities said on Sunday. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed it had shot down or jammed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones in the previous 24 hours, with around 80 heading toward Moscow.
In more than four years of war, Ukraine has built up its own long-range capabilities, hitting oil facilities—a mainstay of the Russian economy—and other targets deep inside Russia. That has increased pressure on President Vladimir Putin, whose army is struggling to make progress on the battlefield and who claimed earlier this month that the war is approaching its end.
Zelenskyy argued that a significant shift is taking place. “Our long-range capabilities are significantly changing the situation and, more broadly, the world’s perception of Russia’s war,” he said on X late on Sunday. “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.”
The escalation underscores the growing role of long-range strikes in the conflict, with both sides seeking to inflict damage far behind the front lines. For European capitals, the repeated use of ballistic missiles against civilian areas has revived debates about continental air defense. Zelenskyy’s call for Europe to develop its own anti-ballistic systems reflects a broader concern that reliance on US-provided defenses may not be sustainable.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defenses downed 50 Ukrainian drones from late Sunday through early Monday. The tit-for-tat strikes show no sign of abating, even as diplomatic efforts remain stalled.
