Russia Launches Massive Drone Attack On Ukraine As War Intensifies

Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war overnight Sunday into Monday, firing nearly 500 drones and 20 missiles into Ukraine in response to Ukraine’s major drone offensive on Russian airfields earlier this month.

Ukraine claims that it intercepted 277 drones and 19 missiles, adding that only 10 Russian missiles or drones hit their targets, according to the Associated Press. The Ukrainian air force said the Russians targeted the central and western areas of Ukraine, damaging a military airfield in Dubno, which is just 40 miles from Ukraine’s border with Poland. Russia also said on Monday that its forces took more territory in Ukraine’s east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk, giving Putin’s army a “buffer zone,” Reuters reported.

“Russia is escalating the war and has no intention of stopping it. Any escalation can only be stopped by force,” said Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The attack comes as the three-year-long war has intensified despite the Trump administration’s efforts to work out a peace deal between the two countries. U.S. officials warned over the weekend that Russia would conduct multiple strikes on Ukraine in response to Ukraine’s surprise drone attack that knocked out numerous Russian bombers. The first round of Russia’s response came on Friday when it launched a missile and drone barrage on Kyiv, an attack that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said involved 400 drones and 40 missiles.

President Donald Trump, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone last week, said that Putin “strongly” insisted that Russia “will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

“We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides. It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” Trump added.

Trump later told reporters that he urged Putin to avoid further escalation in the war, but added that “it’s probably not going to be pretty.”

“I said: ‘Don’t do it. You shouldn’t do it. You should stop it,'” Trump said of his conversation with Putin. “But, again, there’s a lot of hatred.”

While little progress has been made in negotiating a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, the two countries have agreed to multiple rounds of prisoner swaps, with the latest swap beginning on Monday, according to Zelensky.

“Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,” the Ukrainian president said. “Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25,” he added.