Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack on Ukraine Since War Began
A devastating drone attack launched by Russia on Sunday morning has killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, including a four-year-old child. The attack, which saw 273 drones launched before 8am local time, is believed to be the largest known Russian drone attack since the full-scale war began in 2022.
According to Ukraine’s air force, the drones targeted mainly the Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east. The attack resulted in a 28-year-old woman being killed in the capital region, with at least three people injured. The air force reported that 128 of the drones disappeared from radar during the attack, either crashing from software failures or fuel exhaustion, or because they were decoys without explosives. Another 88 were shot down.
The use of decoy drones has become a tactic employed by both Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to overwhelm air defences. These decoys are designed to appear larger than they are on radar systems, making it difficult for air defence systems to distinguish between real and fake targets. Serhii Kuzan, chair of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told the Centre for European Policy Analysis that "many of the drones Russia launches against Ukraine are decoys." He added that these decoys are equipped with Luneberg lenses, which increase their radar signature to appear larger, mimicking the appearance of cruise missiles or other aerial threats.
The large scale of the attack, despite its relatively low impact, is significant in terms of the message it sends before Monday’s planned phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Trump has demanded an "end to the bloodshed" in Ukraine, and the attack may be seen as an attempt by Russia to assert its military strength ahead of the talks.
The attack comes two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022, which failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. The 100 minutes of talks in Istanbul yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side. President Trump is also set to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday.
The escalation of drone attacks by Russia has been a concern for Ukraine, with Kyiv and the region around it, as well as the eastern part of Ukraine, being under air raid warnings for nine straight hours overnight until 9am local time. Air defence units were engaged several times trying to repel attacks, the military said on Telegram. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram that "it’s been a tough night. The Russians have always used war and attacks to intimidate everyone in negotiations."
This latest attack is a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to The Guardian
