Russia launches aerial strikes on Ukraine with 477 drones, 60 missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: "Almost all night long, air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine — 477 drones were in our skies, most of them Russian-Iranian Shaheds, along with 60 missiles of various types."

The President said: "The Russians were targeting everything that sustains life. A residential building in Smila was also hit, and a child was injured. Emergency services are responding wherever they’re needed."

He said an F-16 pilot named Maksym Ustymenko was killed while repelling the attack.

Zelenskyy said: "Today, he destroyed 7 aerial targets. My condolences to his family and brothers-in-arms. I have instructed that all the circumstances of his death be investigated. Ukrainian aviation is heroically protecting our skies. I am grateful to everyone who is defending Ukraine."

Speaking on the recent attacks, Zelenskyy said: "Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes. Just this week alone, there have been more than 114 missiles, over 1,270 drones, and nearly 1,100 glide bombs."

The President said: " These are American systems, which we are ready to buy. We count on leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners. I thank everyone who is helping."

Attacks with short-range drones killed at least 395 civilians and injured 2,635 between February 2022 – the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and April 2025, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) has reported.

According to the rights mission, while the majority (89 per cent) of civilian casualties were documented in Ukrainian-controlled territory as a result of attacks by the Russian armed forces, the remaining occurred in territory occupied by Russian authorities, including in attacks that struck public transport and clearly marked ambulances.

While individually less destructive than artillery or missiles, “the sheer scale and increasing frequency of short-range drone attacks have made them one of the deadliest weapons in Ukraine,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU

Call For Accountability

Information verified by the mission showed that the number of civilian casualties from short-range drones steadily increased in late 2023 and early 2024, before spiking in July 2024 and reaching record numbers in April 2025.

Casualties continued in May and June, such as during a strike on a minibus in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, on 23 June, in which the 65-year-old driver was killed.

On 22 May, a 58-year-old woman, a local volunteer, was killed in a frontline village in Kharkiv region when a drone dropped a munition on the balcony of a two-story residential building, according to the HRMMU.

“Each of these attacks must be investigated,” Bell said.

“Those responsible for targeting civilians and humanitarian personnel must be held to account.”