Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia
[June 26, 2026]
Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major
nighttime attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held
Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia’s Defense
Ministry said Friday.
It appeared to be one of the biggest drone attacks on Russia and the
illegally annexed Crimea since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
more than four years ago. The previous biggest Ukrainian attack over the
past year was 556 drones on May 17.
In an effort to turn the tables on Russia’s grinding war of attrition,
Ukrainian long-range drones have for months been battering targets,
including oil production and energy facilities, behind the front line
and deep inside Russia. The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies
and military deliveries, stalling Moscow's efforts on the battlefield,
Western officials and analysts say, and heaped pressure on Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Initial damage reports from Russia after the overnight attack provided
scant information. Russia’s Defense Ministry usually doesn't say what
was targeted in Ukraine’s drone attacks, nor does it detail any damage.
Ukraine’s Security Service said it used drones to strike Russian navy
ships and air defense radars in Kerch, an important port city in Crimea.
The targets were two reconnaissance and mine-laying ships, the Volga and
the Vyatka, and the cargo-passenger ferry Petropavlovsk, the agency
said, claiming that the strikes started a large fire. The claim could
not be independently verified.
Successful drone attacks hearten Ukraine
The major attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy said on X that he had ordered “a 40-day influence operation,”
believed to mean an escalation of attacks, aimed at “compelling (Russia)
to end the war” after U.S. peace efforts over the past year yielded no
breakthrough.
The successful strikes, including hitting targets in Moscow and St.
Petersburg, have buoyed Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he got further promises of foreign support when he
attended a recent summit of G7 leaders, including from U.S. President
Donald Trump, and that the promised aid will help Ukraine step up its
effort to force Putin to the negotiating table.
A NATO summit next month could be another key moment in beefing up
Ukraine's military.
A Russian chemical plant is reportedly hit
In the Tula region just south of Moscow, a private house was damaged by
the attack and a woman was wounded, Tula Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said in an
online statement, as reports of damage caused by the attack began to
emerge.
He also said a power line was damaged and an unspecified industrial
facility in the city of Novomoskovsk.
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In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service,
firefighters extinguish a fire in a residential building following a
Russian drone attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, June 26,
2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Russian independent online outlet Astra reported that a chemical
plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk were attacked and
caught fire. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the
report, and there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported that 47 Ukrainian drones
were downed as they flew toward the Russian capital. He did not
report any casualties or damage.
Ukraine says 2 civilians were killed in Russian attacks
Two people were killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks
on the northeastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours,
regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Friday.
Russian forces struck the city of Kharkiv and 16 other settlements
across the region using guided aerial bombs and drones of various
types, Syniehubov said.
Ukraine’s defenses overnight stopped 174 of 189 Russian drones, the
Ukrainian air force said. However, four of seven Iskander-M
ballistic missiles that were fired got through air defenses and
struck various locations, it said.
Ukrainian officials reported damage to energy facilities, homes and
other civilian infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, the southern
Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions, and Sumy in the northeast. At least
six people were wounded, according to authorities.
No Russian military buildup seen on border with Belarus, Ukraine
says
Russia is expanding several of its military sites deep inside
Belarus, but there is no buildup of forces near the Ukrainian
border, a State Border Guard Service spokesman said Friday.
Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine from Belarus, which
borders both countries, and Kyiv has kept a close watch on
developments there during the war.
Ukrainian intelligence units have detected no grouping or
reinforcement of Russian units, equipment or personnel close to the
border, spokesman Andrii Demchenko said in remarks to Ukrainian
television.
However, Russia has a growing number of training grounds, bases and
other sites deeper inside the country, according to intelligence
units.
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