Russia pounds Ukraine with 'massive' air attack

People take shelter in the Teatralna metro station during a Russian air attack, in Kyiv, on August 26, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian drones and missiles on August 26, 2024, targeted 15 regions across Ukraine in an overnight barrage aimed mainly at energy infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said.

Ukrainians take shelter in the Teatralna metro station during a Russian air attack in Kyiv on August 26, 2024

(Image credit: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)

published 27 August 2024

What happened

Russia hit Ukraine with missiles and drones early Tuesday after striking more than half of the country's regions early Monday. The barrage killed at least four civilians on Tuesday and seven on Monday, and attacks on energy and water infrastructure caused outages in Kyiv and elsewhere. Ukrainians sought shelter overnight in basements and subway stations.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia fired 236 cruise and supersonic missiles and attack drones on Monday and Ukraine shot down or disabled 201 of them. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk called it Russia's "most massive aerial attack" in 30 months of war. The previous one-day record was 158 missiles and drones in December, the BBC said.

The attack's "main target" was energy infrastructure, but Moscow also wanted to "strike at Ukraine's reserves of another key resource: morale," the BBC said. Ukrainians have been "electrified" by Kyiv's recent incursion deep into Russian territory, and the Kremlin wanted to show it can "still inflict misery on the Ukrainian population" at will.

Ukraine's defense minister and a close Zelenskyy adviser will present the Biden administration this week with a list of targets Kyiv wants to strike inside Russia with long-range U.S. weapons, Politico said. To sidestep Western restrictions, The Associated Press said, Ukrainian officials said they have developed a homegrown missile-drone hybrid, the Palianytsia, that can strike deep within Russia, without U.S. approval.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.