Russia Ramps Up Overnight Attacks as It Prepares for a New Summer Offensive Against Ukraine
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At ten am, smoke was still rising from several districts of Kyiv after Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Ukraine's cities in three years of war. Explosions were recorded in seven districts of the city, a result of more than 300 Shahed type drones, missiles and decoy drones which targeted the Ukrainian capital.
The munitions fired at Kyiv account for the majority of the 499 weapons unleashed across the country, including nineteen cruise, ballistic and anti-radar missiles. As it stands, official figures suggest that only four people were injured in Kyiv while no deaths were recorded in the capital. However the death toll in Odesa, where a maternity hospital among other civilian infrastructure sites were hit, has risen to two with nine people injured.
Last night's attack, which lasted for more than five hours and led to many Ukrainians taking shelter in hallways, basements and metro stations across the country, is just one of a number of escalating attacks in recent weeks and follows the largest overnight attack of the war on Sunday night.
UPDATE
How Ukraine Used Cheap Drones and a Lot of Ingenuity to Strike a Major Blow Against Russia
"I spent most of the early hours of Saturday in my hallway feeling the walls shake as the ballistic missiles exploded", Chris York reports from Kyiv
Chris York
While far from the deadliest assaults Ukrainian cities have seen, the recent attacks represent a significant increase in the scale and frequency of Russian attacks against metropolitan centres, particularly in the number of cities being targeted in the same night. The last month alone has seen three of the largest scale combined assaults since 2022 with six of the ten largest having been carried out this year.
According to Moscow, and to US President Donald Trump, these attacks are a retaliation to Operation Spider's Web in which Ukrainian intelligence sneaked First Person View (FPV) drones into Russia concealed inside the roofs of prefabricated cabins and destroyed or damaged 40 strategic Russian aircraft, including 34% of Russian cruise missile carriers.
According to Trump, speaking from Air Force One on Friday "Ukraine "gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night." However these larger attacks against Ukrainian cities are being carried out in concert with increased Russian efforts to attack Ukraine across the board.
Having retaken the vast majority of the Kursk region, captured in a surprise incursion by Ukraine last summer, Russia is now amassing troops at the border. In the last six weeks it has pushed around six kilometres into the neighbouring Ukrainian Sumy region. A
For digital and print editions, packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, features, and columns….
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At ten am, smoke was still rising from several districts of Kyiv after Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Ukraine's cities in three years of war. Explosions were recorded in seven districts of the city, a result of more than 300 Shahed type drones, missiles and decoy drones which targeted the Ukrainian capital.
The munitions fired at Kyiv account for the majority of the 499 weapons unleashed across the country, including nineteen cruise, ballistic and anti-radar missiles. As it stands, official figures suggest that only four people were injured in Kyiv while no deaths were recorded in the capital. However the death toll in Odesa, where a maternity hospital among other civilian infrastructure sites were hit, has risen to two with nine people injured.
Last night's attack, which lasted for more than five hours and led to many Ukrainians taking shelter in hallways, basements and metro stations across the country, is just one of a number of escalating attacks in recent weeks and follows the largest overnight attack of the war on Sunday night.
UPDATE
How Ukraine Used Cheap Drones and a Lot of Ingenuity to Strike a Major Blow Against Russia
"I spent most of the early hours of Saturday in my hallway feeling the walls shake as the ballistic missiles exploded", Chris York reports from Kyiv
Chris York
While far from the deadliest assaults Ukrainian cities have seen, the recent attacks represent a significant increase in the scale and frequency of Russian attacks against metropolitan centres, particularly in the number of cities being targeted in the same night. The last month alone has seen three of the largest scale combined assaults since 2022 with six of the ten largest having been carried out this year.
According to Moscow, and to US President Donald Trump, these attacks are a retaliation to Operation Spider's Web in which Ukrainian intelligence sneaked First Person View (FPV) drones into Russia concealed inside the roofs of prefabricated cabins and destroyed or damaged 40 strategic Russian aircraft, including 34% of Russian cruise missile carriers.
According to Trump, speaking from Air Force One on Friday "Ukraine "gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night." However these larger attacks against Ukrainian cities are being carried out in concert with increased Russian efforts to attack Ukraine across the board.
Having retaken the vast majority of the Kursk region, captured in a surprise incursion by Ukraine last summer, Russia is now amassing troops at the border. In the last six weeks it has pushed around six kilometres into the neighbouring Ukrainian Sumy region. A
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