Overview
- Ukraine said Russian forces fired 70 missiles and launched 611 drones in an overnight attack that focused on Kyiv and struck other cities.
- Ukrainian air defences reported shooting down most incoming weapons while Russia issued its own tally claiming it intercepted large numbers of Ukrainian drones, creating competing accounts of effectiveness.
- The raids caused civilian deaths and damage on both sides with at least nine people killed in Ukraine, three killed in Tula in Russia, fires at Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra and widespread power outages in the capital.
- Analysts report Russia’s ground momentum has slowed after more than four years of war and that Moscow is using small two- to three-person assault teams paired with drones to seize forward positions.
- The United Nations warned the conflict is widening and deadlier, prompting calls from Ukrainian leaders for stepped air-defence aid and raising pressure on Western partners to increase support.