Russia Launches Largest Aerial Assault on Ukraine \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Russia executed the most extensive aerial attack since 2022, firing 537 weapons—including 477 drones—across Ukraine. Ukraine downed nearly half the weapons, but several regions suffered casualties and damage, including the loss of an F‑16 and its pilot. The attack spurred Ukraine to withdraw from the anti-landmine treaty, citing Russia’s unrestrained warfare.
Quick Looks
- Air campaign scale: 537 aerial weapons unleashed—477 drones/decoys, 60 missiles.
- Ukraine’s response: 249 intercepted, 226 disrupted via jamming.
- Civilian casualties: At least seven killed (Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kostyantynivka, Zaporizhzhia).
- Infrastructure hit: Drone strike sparked fire, wide blackout in Drohobych, Lviv region.
- Military losses: Ukrainian F‑16 shot down; pilot killed.
- Frontline update: Russia claims Novoukrainka in Donetsk amid slow, costly advances.
- Diplomacy deepens: Russia’s Naryshkin held phone talks with CIA chief Ratcliffe.
- Policy shift: Zelenskyy exits Ottawa land‑mine treaty due to Russian mine use.
Deep Look
In what Ukrainian officials described as the largest and most sustained air assault since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Moscow unleashed a wave of 537 aerial weapons against Ukraine overnight. The offensive included 477 drones—some armed and some used as decoys—and 60 missiles of varying types. According to Ukraine’s air force, 249 of these aerial threats were intercepted and destroyed, while an additional 226 likely fell from the sky after being neutralized by electronic warfare jamming.
The attack marks a dangerous escalation in Russia’s ongoing air campaign and raises fresh doubts about the viability of renewed peace talks, even as President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to resume direct negotiations. Ukrainian officials emphasized that the scale and reach of the attack were unprecedented. Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, confirmed to the Associated Press that this was “the most massive airstrike” in the war’s history when considering both drones and missiles.
What’s notable about the onslaught is that it wasn’t limited to front-line areas. The strikes extended deep into Ukraine’s interior, including the far-western Lviv region, which had been largely spared from large-scale attacks in recent months. In Lviv’s city of Drohobych, a drone strike sparked a large fire at an industrial site and knocked out power in parts of the city, further illustrating the expanding scope of Russia’s offensive reach.
The human toll was sobering. Three people were killed in each of the regions of Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk due to drone attacks, local governors confirmed. In the eastern town of Kostyantynivka, another person died in an airstrike. Separately, Russian shelling claimed the life of a civilian in the city of Kherson, and a 70-year-old woman’s body was discovered beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the Zaporizhzhia region—another victim of heavy shelling.
The Ukrainian military also suffered a significant loss: one of its Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets, part of the country’s new generation of air defense capabilities, crashed while reportedly engaging and destroying Russian air threats. The jet sustained critical damage before it went down, killing the pilot. This marked the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukrainian service and highlighted the intensity of the overnight aerial battle.
The ripple effects of the aerial assault extended beyond Ukraine. In neighboring Poland, the country’s air force activated and scrambled jets in response to the proximity of Russian missiles and drones to its border, ensuring national airspace safety amid a rapidly evolving security landscape.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it had downed three Ukrainian drones overnight, continuing its assertions of defending against cross-border attacks. In Russia’s Bryansk region, two people were injured following another Ukrainian drone strike, and officials said seven additional drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.
On the battlefield, Russia announced on Sunday that its forces had taken control of the village of Novoukrainka in the partially occupied Donetsk region. While these gains remain relatively modest in terms of territory, they reflect the Kremlin’s strategy of slow, grinding advances along the war’s roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front. These incremental movements have come at high costs, with Ukrainian reports suggesting significant Russian troop casualties and the destruction of substantial amounts of military equipment.
In a parallel diplomatic development, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief, Sergei Naryshkin, revealed during a televised interview that he had recently held a phone conversation with CIA Director John Ratcliffe. He stated that both parties had agreed to maintain open lines of communication to discuss mutual concerns. While details of their conversation were not disclosed, the call underscores the ongoing high-level dialogue between Washington and Moscow even as ground tensions continue to mount.
Amid these military and diplomatic shifts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree to withdraw Ukraine from the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel land mines. The move has stirred international attention, as Ukraine had been a signatory to the treaty for over two decades. According to Roman Kostenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and member of the national security and defense committee, the decision was driven by wartime necessity. He noted that Russia, which never signed the treaty, has used land mines extensively against both Ukrainian forces and civilians.
Kostenko described Ukraine’s withdrawal as “a step that the reality of war has long demanded.” The decision aligns with recent moves by Poland and the Baltic states, who also exited the Ottawa Convention amid rising threats along NATO’s eastern flank.
The past 24 hours underscore the volatile and dangerous phase the conflict has entered. As Russia escalates its air campaigns and continues slow advances on the ground, Ukraine is adapting its strategies and international posture. At the same time, diplomatic overtures appear overshadowed by battlefield realities, making a near-term resolution unlikely.
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