Moscow launches its deadliest attack with 800 marches on Ukraine

Yesterday, the Ukrainian Front recorded one of the heaviest waves of military escalation in months, as the authorities in Kiev announced that they had been subjected to intensive aerial bombardment by at least 800 Russian drones, killing six civilians and injuring dozens in various Ukrainian regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the Russian attack as "one of the largest and longest" since the outbreak of the war, noting that the timing of this escalation "is not spontaneous" He accused Moscow of seeking to“disrupt the political landscape” amid international efforts to end the conflict. The Russian strikes affected several strategic cities, including Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Odessa, with a special focus on the railway network, which was hit by 23 air raids that damaged trains, bridges and warehouses, despite the country's continued vital transport movement. In return, Ukrainian forces responded with extensive air attacks targeting Russian territory. Moscow announced the downing of 286 Ukrainian drones over its territory and Crimea. The Ukrainian military confirmed its success in hitting two oil and gas stations in southern Russia, sparking fires at energy facilities in the Astrakhan, Krasnodar and Yaroslavl regions. On the political level, the escalation on the ground coincided with a new Russian tightening on the terms of peace, as presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov linked any ceasefire to the need for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbass region, demanding Zelenskyy “ordered his army to withdraw” to open the way for comprehensive peace negotiations, which Kiev dismissed as a “surrender.” In response to the growing air threats, the commanders of the eastern flank of NATO called for the strengthening of air defense systems, while Poland announced the upgrading of the readiness of its air forces and air defense systems in anticipation of any developments on its eastern border with Ukraine.