Russia Launches Drone and Missile Barrage on Ukraine, Killing Three, Kyiv Says

Russia carried out a large-scale drone and missile assault on Ukraine overnight, killing three people, wounding dozens, and damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, fighting has intensified in recent months.

In a statement on Telegram, Zelensky said Russia had launched nearly 580 drones and 40 missiles targeting infrastructure, construction firms, and residential areas across the country. Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 552 drones and 31 missiles.

“Throughout the night, Ukraine was under a massive Russian attack,” Zelensky said. “These strikes are not driven by military necessity but are part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure.” Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

Zelensky said a cluster munition-equipped missile struck an apartment block in the central city of Dnipro, killing one person and injuring at least 26 others, according to regional officials. Authorities said two more people were killed in the northern Chernihiv region and western Khmelnytskyi region. Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

In Kyiv, resident Yulia Chistokletova told Reuters: “I could hear the Shahed drone approaching. I knew it was coming toward us. My child and I were terrified. This should not be happening in the 21st century. We are all human beings. Sit down at the table and talk.”

Kyiv faces mounting pressure in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces continue to advance, devastating villages and towns and seizing new territory.

Escalating Drone Warfare
Analysts say Russia appears to have shifted tactics, deploying swarms of hundreds of drones in a single attack—compared to dozens at the start of the war—in an effort to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses and strike cities far from the front lines.

Ukraine typically responds with drone strikes aimed deeper into Russian territory, targeting refineries, fuel depots, and logistics hubs. Ukraine’s General Staff said it carried out overnight attacks on two Russian oil refineries in the Saratov and Samara regions, causing explosions and fires.

On Saturday, Zelensky told reporters: “We have drones, we know how to produce them. It all depends on how many we use daily. Once our numbers match the Russians, they will feel it through fuel shortages and long lines at petrol stations.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces successfully struck Ukrainian military-industrial sites overnight with precision weapons.

Poland’s military command confirmed that Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early Saturday to secure NATO airspace after several Russian airstrikes near the Polish border targeted western Ukraine.