Russia launched another large-scale aerial assault across Ukraine on Wednesday, killing civilians in Dnipro and damaging residential and commercial targets as both countries intensified long-range strikes and their leaders traded threats over an increasingly expansive air war.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Russia launched 174 attack drones and four missiles at Ukraine in another sweeping aerial assault Wednesday, killing two people in Dnipro, injuring civilians across several regions and extending an increasingly intense exchange of long-range attacks between Moscow and Kyiv.
The latest barrage struck targets from central Ukraine to Kyiv and the southern Odesa region as the war continues into its fifth year with neither side achieving a decisive breakthrough along the principal front lines.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 174 attack drones, approximately half of them jet-powered models that are increasingly being used by Moscow and are particularly difficult to intercept. Russian forces also fired two ballistic missiles and two air-launched missiles.
Dnipro suffered some of the most serious casualties.
A man and woman were killed in strikes on the central Ukrainian city, according to local officials.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said the attack struck food warehouses belonging to a Dnipro retail chain and wounded at least six people.
The destruction of food-storage facilities follows other Russian attacks on warehouses that have contributed to empty shelves at some supermarkets.
Ukrainian authorities have accused Moscow of deliberately striking civilian infrastructure to interfere with everyday life and weaken public morale.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized what he described as an inadequate international response to Russia’s escalating air campaign.
“Unfortunately, there has been far too little response from the world and its most influential leaders to this latest Russian escalation of strikes,” Zelenskyy said on social media Wednesday. “Every partner knows what is needed: air defense for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and a significant increase in defense production.”
Odesa was also heavily affected.
Officials in the southern region said a Russian attack damaged a 24-story residential building, destroying apartments across several floors.
Eight people were wounded, including a child.
The Kyiv region sustained additional casualties during morning attacks.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration, said a man and woman suffered shrapnel wounds.
The attack marked the seventh consecutive day that Kyiv had come under Russian assault.
Although Wednesday’s barrage against the capital was less intense than some attacks during the preceding days, the repeated strikes continued to keep residents under pressure.
Russia and Ukraine are simultaneously carrying out increasingly ambitious attacks against targets far beyond the ground combat zone.
Zelenskyy warned foreign airlines late Tuesday that Ukrainian long-range drone operations are making Russian airspace increasingly dangerous.
“Russian airspace will effectively be closing,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said the objective of sustained military pressure is to force Moscow toward peace negotiations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by accusing Zelenskyy of terrorism.
“We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Putin said, describing the Ukrainian leader’s actions as “state terrorism.”
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation rejected Putin’s characterization and accused Moscow of attempting to portray itself as the victim of a war Russia began.
“A state that itself unleashed this war, that daily commits terror against Ukrainian civilians and destroys cities, is again trying to portray itself as a ‘victim,’” the government body said.
Russian officials also sought to dismiss concerns about the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on civilian aviation.
Transportation Minister Andrey Nikitin said Russian authorities are continuously improving aviation protections.
“We will not allow any significant disruptions to civil aviation,” Nikitin told reporters, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
The growing reach of Ukrainian attacks has nevertheless introduced new pressure on Russian transportation infrastructure and economic facilities.
Ukraine has developed its own fleet of long-range drones and repeatedly used them against Russian oil installations, fuel infrastructure and other facilities far from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said its drones struck 12 Russian oil refineries during August.
The ministry also reported attacks against three fuel terminals and oil depots and two gas-processing and petrochemical companies during the month.
Kyiv’s strategy is intended in part to damage industries supporting Russia’s economy and military operations while bringing the consequences of the war closer to the Russian public.
Online retailers’ warehouses have also been targeted.
Russia, meanwhile, said it faced another substantial wave of Ukrainian drones overnight.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its air-defense systems destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones over 11 Russian regions, the Black Sea and Crimea.
Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Russian officials reported deaths and injuries from Ukrainian attacks as well.
Acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said two people were killed in Russia’s Belgorod border region and another 16 were wounded.
According to Shuvayev, Ukrainian forces struck the region 140 times during a 24-hour period.
The expanding drone campaign is occurring while the conventional land war remains largely stalled across eastern and southern Ukraine.
Western analysts and officials say Russia’s latest attempt to push farther into Ukrainian territory has lost momentum.
The Institute for the Study of War said late Tuesday that Russian territorial advances during August amounted to “a fraction” of the gains Moscow achieved during the same month one year earlier.
The Washington-based research organization concluded that Russia’s spring and summer offensive had failed to break through Ukraine’s front-line defenses.
“Russian gains remain slow and limited,” the institute said.
The absence of a decisive ground breakthrough has increased the significance of long-range strikes for both countries.
Russia has continued relying heavily on drones and missiles to attack Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and economic targets, while Ukraine has expanded strikes against Russian energy installations, logistics sites and other facilities.
The air conflict is also intersecting with growing security concerns elsewhere in Europe.
European governments are considering how to respond to what officials describe as a wider Russian campaign of sabotage and disruption intended to weaken Western support for Ukraine.
Germany said Tuesday that Russia was responsible for an attempted attack last month at Leipzig/Halle Airport involving a drone carrying explosives.
Moscow has faced growing accusations involving operations against European infrastructure as governments supporting Ukraine increase security around transportation, energy and other critical systems.
Putin also addressed the possibility of widening retaliation during a late-night news conference at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.
Asked about reports that Ukraine had used British-made drones for strikes inside Russia, Putin was questioned about whether Moscow could retaliate against British military installations if the United Kingdom continued supplying weapons to Kyiv.
Putin did not rule out the possibility.
With a small smile, he described the answer as “a military secret.”
Russia continues to receive military support from China and North Korea, while Iran has provided assistance in previous years.
Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to produce an end to the conflict.
U.S. attempts to negotiate a settlement have not established a path toward peace, leaving both governments attempting to increase military pressure as fighting continues.
The result is an increasingly broad contest in which drones and missiles are reaching deeper into each country even as movement along the battlefield remains comparatively limited.
For Ukraine, Wednesday brought another day of civilian casualties, damaged homes and disrupted infrastructure.
For Russia, Ukrainian drones continued striking across multiple regions and threatening strategic economic targets.
With neither Moscow nor Kyiv indicating that it intends to reduce those operations, the long-range air war is becoming an increasingly central feature of a conflict whose front lines remain largely locked in place.
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