Staff Report
The conflict in Ukraine intensified late last week with a significant aerial assault, as Russian forces launched a coordinated attack involving 112 kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles across multiple Ukrainian regions. This widespread offensive, occurring between Friday evening and Saturday morning, targeted numerous settlements, resulting in casualties and damage, according to reports from Ukraine’s air force and regional authorities.
Among the various types of unmanned aerial vehicles deployed were Shahed and Gerbera drones, alongside Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept a substantial number of these incoming threats, downing 91 of the 112 drones. However, at least 18 strikes found their mark across 11 different locations, leaving a trail of destruction and human suffering.
The human cost of these attacks quickly became apparent. In Odesa, a woman perished in a residential fire ignited by the strikes. Zaporizhzhia reported one fatality and three injuries, while in Sumy, a 44-year-old woman was killed and three others sustained injuries. Kherson faced particularly grim outcomes, with two individuals deceased, including a 52-year-old man, and four wounded. Beyond these confirmed fatalities, reports from Kyiv Oblast indicated a man and a woman were hospitalized with injuries, and a Russian drone strike in the village of Fesky, Kharkiv Oblast, injured a 22-year-old man. Oleg Kiper, the governor of the southern Ukrainian region, confirmed the Odesa fatality via Telegram, noting that rescue workers swiftly extinguished the fire. Separately, Ivan Fedorov, the regional military chief, stated that Zaporizhzhia alone endured 655 strikes on 41 settlements over a 24-hour period.
Meanwhile, the repercussions extended across the border. Russian regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed that a Ukrainian missile strike on Friday killed two people and wounded five in the Russian border city of Belgorod. Additionally, a Russian ammunition depot near Novoekonomichne in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast was reportedly struck the same day, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These escalations unfolded concurrently with the Munich Security Conference, a critical international forum where global leaders convene to discuss pressing security challenges.
At the Munich conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were engaged in discussions concerning military aid to Ukraine and a “June deadline” for a potential peace deal. This deadline, reportedly set by the Trump administration, has been publicly acknowledged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy, present in Munich since Friday, has been holding meetings with various allies and was scheduled to address the conference on Saturday. Notably, no Russian officials were extended invitations to this year’s summit, maintaining the policy of exclusion initiated after the 2022 invasion. Despite the heightened tensions and ongoing conflict, trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States are confirmed to proceed on Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva, as announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
