Ukraine Reports Massive Russian Drone and Missile Attacks, 40 Injured in Kyiv

The Ukrainian military said Russia deployed at least 675 drones and 56 missiles in the assault. Air defense forces intercepted many of the projectiles, but the scale of the attack overwhelmed defenses in multiple regions.

Geopolitical Timing and Russian Demands

Zelenskyy suggested the timing of the assault was deliberate, coinciding with a high-profile U.S. presidential visit to China. "It is certainly no coincidence that one of the longest massive Russian attacks against Ukraine occurred just as the President of the United States arrived for a visit to China—a visit from which many expect much," he said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed last week that the war was nearing its end, though he provided no specifics. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s conditions for peace talks, stating they would only occur if Zelenskyy ordered Ukrainian forces to "cease fire and leave the territory of Donbas as well as the Russian regions."

In a separate development, Putin announced the successful test of Russia’s new RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a show of military strength amid the escalating conflict. The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, also resigned "at his own request," according to a Kremlin decree.