Russia launched a massive overnight drone and missile assault on Ukraine, killing at least five people and injuring over 80, in what Moscow described as retaliation for recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases. The strikes, which began late Thursday and continued into Friday, targeted Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lutsk, and Ternopil causing widespread destruction and panic.
Ukrainian officials reported that the attack involved more than 400 drones and 38 cruise missiles, many of the same type Ukraine had previously targeted in its long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the latest aerial onslaught hit residential areas, schools, and emergency service buildings. Three emergency workers were among the dead in Kyiv, with additional casualties reported in Lutsk and Chernihiv.
The assault follows Ukraine’s largest drone operation to date, codenamed Operation Spider Web, which reportedly damaged over 30% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers. Russia, meanwhile, claims its response was aimed at military sites, asserting Ukraine’s recent cross-border sabotage in Bryansk and Kursk which Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied as justification.
In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the conflict in Ukraine had become “existential” for Russia, framing it as a national security matter. Moscow also claimed to have intercepted Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles over the Black Sea and shot down 174 Ukrainian drones over Russia and occupied Crimea.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in, suggesting Ukraine had given Putin a “reason to bomb the hell out of them,” remarks that drew criticism from Zelensky. The Ukrainian president called on the US and European allies to exert more pressure on Russia, warning that inaction equates to complicity in the continued bloodshed.
As air raid sirens blared across Kyiv and metro systems halted, residents once again sheltered underground amid explosions and the buzz of incoming drones. In Ternopil, officials described it as the most intense airstrike the region has faced so far.
Peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month failed to yield a breakthrough, with Russia rejecting calls for an unconditional ceasefire and proposing only limited regional truces. The war continues with no clear end in sight.
