Russia launches nearly 2,000 attack drones, over 1,500 guided bombs, 44 missiles at Ukraine in one week – Zelensky

Russia used several kinds of weapons during the reported week: attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and missiles. Zelensky said 36 of the 44 missiles were ballistic missiles. The unusually varied and intense attacks matter because they can pressure air defenses while damaging both military and civilian infrastructure.

The strikes were not limited to one target type. Overnight attacks hit energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Khmelnytskyi. The damaged equipment included substations, transformers, and power lines supplying electricity to residential buildings.

Repair crews were working at the sites, but hundreds of thousands of households remained without electricity. Zelensky said Russia is trying to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors. He urged partners to deliver air-defense support quickly, saying new deliveries cannot take years.

The reported bombardment was enormous. Zelensky said Russia launched 1,940 attack drones, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, and 44 missiles against Ukraine in one week. Together, those figures show a sustained campaign rather than a single isolated strike.

The missile total included 36 ballistic missiles, which Zelensky identified as a central danger. The attacks also continued against energy infrastructure. Four regions were hit overnight, and hundreds of thousands of households lost electricity after substations, transformers, and power lines were damaged.

The scale is important because Ukraine must detect, track, and respond to different threats at the same time. Zelensky said Russia is taking maximum advantage of a shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors. He called for immediate decisions and deliveries to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.

In standard military usage, a guided aerial bomb is an air-dropped bomb fitted with guidance equipment. That equipment helps it adjust its path toward a selected target. An ordinary unguided bomb follows a simpler path after release and is generally less precise. The article identifies guided bombs but does not describe their technical systems.

A ballistic missile is a missile that travels through a high-speed flight path shaped largely by gravity after its powered launch phase. An ordinary rocket may be unguided and follow a less controlled trajectory. Ballistic missiles can be difficult to intercept because they may travel quickly and approach from above, depending on the missile and its flight.

These differences matter in Ukraine because Zelensky said 36 of the 44 missiles launched during the week were ballistic. He also said Russia was exploiting a shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors, making timely air-defense deliveries especially important.

Ballistic-missile interceptors are defensive missiles designed to detect, track, and destroy incoming ballistic missiles before they reach their targets. If too few are available, Ukraine has fewer chances to engage each threat. The article does not state how many interceptors Ukraine has, but it identifies their shortage as a serious vulnerability.

Zelensky said Russia launched 44 missiles in the reported week, including 36 ballistic missiles. He said the intensity of the strikes was extremely high and that Russian forces were trying to take maximum advantage of the interceptor shortage. This creates pressure on Ukraine to protect many locations with limited defenses.

The danger extends beyond military sites. Russian attacks hit energy infrastructure in four regions, damaging equipment that supplies homes. Zelensky said decisions to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses must be implemented now, because delayed deliveries could leave critical infrastructure exposed to further attacks.

Patriot is a surface-to-air missile defense system. Its interceptor missiles are designed to engage incoming aircraft and certain missiles, including ballistic missiles. The article does not provide technical details about the system, but it identifies Patriot missiles as a specific need Ukraine communicates to America, Europe, and other partners.

The request is tied to the reported threat. Russia launched 44 missiles in one week, including 36 ballistic missiles, while also using drones and guided aerial bombs. Zelensky said Russia was exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors. More capable air defenses could help protect populated areas and critical energy facilities.

Zelensky said the United States and European countries made new decisions on additional packages for Ukraine that month. However, he stressed that deliveries cannot take years. His message was that air-defense support must arrive quickly while Russia continues attacking infrastructure and killing Ukrainians.

Substations, transformers, and power lines are connected parts of the electricity network. A substation routes electricity between different parts of the grid. A transformer changes voltage so electricity can travel efficiently and later be used safely. Power lines carry it onward. Damage to any of these links can interrupt service to many homes.

The article gives a direct example. Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure overnight in Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Khmelnytskyi. The targets included equipment supplying electricity to residential buildings. When that equipment was damaged, electricity could not reach all connected households normally.

Repair crews were working at the sites, but hundreds of thousands of households remained without electricity. The disruption shows why energy facilities can be strategic targets: one damaged node may affect a wide area. Continued attacks could prolong outages and increase pressure on Ukraine’s air defenses and repair teams.

A power grid moves electricity in stages. Power plants generate it, and high-voltage lines carry it across long distances. Substations route the flow between parts of the network. Transformers change voltage for different stages, and local power lines deliver electricity to homes. The article specifically identifies substations, transformers, and power lines as links serving residential buildings.

These nodes are difficult to replace quickly because they connect major parts of the system. If a substation or transformer fails, electricity may have no usable route to many customers even when a power plant is operating. Replacing damaged equipment also requires repair crews and suitable components. The article confirms that crews were working at the attacked sites.

The immediate result was severe: hundreds of thousands of households remained without electricity. Attacks on several regions can create multiple repair problems at once. Unless repairs and air-defense improvements happen quickly, further strikes could prolong disruptions and expose more infrastructure.