Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine overnight Sunday in its biggest bombardment since the start of the war — a day after US officials warned that such an attack from Moscow was likely.
A total of 479 Shahed drones and 20 missiles were launched at Ukraine by Russian forces overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement on Monday.
All but 19 of the drones and one of the missiles were successfully downed by Ukrainian units, the air force’s statement continued.
Damage was caused to a military airfield in the city of Dubno, just 40 miles from Ukraine’s western border with Poland, which was the main Russian target, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Reuters.
One person was injured, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Polish and other allied aircraft were activated early on Monday to ensure the safety of the NATO member’s airspace, Poland’s armed forces said in a statement.
“Russia is escalating the war and has no intention of stopping it. Any escalation can only be stopped by force,” a top advisor to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, said on Monday.
The record attacks were in response to Kyiv’s devastating strikes on Russian bases earlier this month, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday.
“All designated targets” were hit, a statement from the ministry claimed.
The recent escalation in aerial attacks comes as Russia steps up its push on the eastern and northeastern parts of Ukraine, covering a more than 600-mile front line.
At the same time, Ukraine has continued its attacks deep into Russian territory.
On Monday, Ukrainian special operations forces struck a Russian airfield in the Nizhny Novgorod region, some 400 miles northeast of the Ukrainian border.
Two recent rounds of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv have largely failed to agree on any serious breakthrough.
On Monday, a group of young Ukrainian prisoners — all under 25 — were returned home, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, in the first stage of a new captive exchange deal agreed upon during the second round of talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Emotional photos and video of the young shaven-headed captives, draped in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, were shared on X by President Zelensky.
