Ukraine Fires Nearly 1,200 Drones at Russia in One of War’s Biggest Barrages

The update

Ukraine fired almost 1,200 drones at Russian targets overnight in one of its biggest aerial attacks since Moscow’s invasion nearly five years ago. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences downed 1,198 Ukrainian long-range drones between late Thursday and early Friday, across more than 15 regions. Local authorities in Russia’s Volgograd region said four workers were killed in an industrial area housing an oil refinery and a chemical plant. Russia launched 117 drones against Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian authorities said. Officials reported a 17-year-old boy killed in Zaporizhzhia, two people killed in Odesa, and a hospital damaged and set alight in Kyiv, forcing patients and staff to seek shelter.

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Why it matters

The barrage came as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin after talks in Abu Dhabi. Its scale underlines that Kyiv can still strike deep inside Russia while Moscow continues hitting Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure as winter approaches, leaving communities facing power shortages. Negotiators are also discussing wider postwar European security arrangements alongside territorial issues, raising the stakes beyond the front line.

What to watch

Watch for updated casualty figures from both sides, confirmation of damage to the Volgograd refinery and other energy sites, and whether the next round of talks, now expected to include European representatives, produces a ceasefire proposal or further escalation.

Sources

• thehindu.com — confirms the nearly 1,200-drone scale, the Russian defence ministry figure, and Russia’s 117-drone attack on Ukraine
• newscentraltv.com — confirms the 1,198 drones across more than 15 regions, the Volgograd deaths, and the Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia casualties

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