Overview
- Ukrainian forces said Russia launched a combined strike of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and more than 160 Shahed-type drones on Tuesday, with the Air Force reporting dozens of intercepts but large numbers of incoming weapons.
- Kyiv officials reported multiple deaths and rising injuries from strikes that damaged apartment blocks, schools, warehouses and a television office while fires burned across the city.
- Ukraine’s air-defence systems shot down many targets but remain strained, with leaders warning that ballistic missiles are especially hard to stop and urgently requesting more interceptor missiles from partners.
- Ukrainian long-range drone strikes were reported inside Russia, including footage and local reports of a blaze at a Saratov refinery, while Moscow said its forces intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones across Russian regions and Crimea.
- Independent analysts and Kyiv officials said Russia’s ground advances in Donetsk are slow, Moscow has postponed internal capture deadlines to March 31, 2027, and ISW estimates that at current rates a full take of Donetsk could take years.