Russia unleashes another aerial barrage on Ukraine as war's long-range strikes escalate

Published on 18/05/2026 - 12:26 GMT+2

Russia targeted 8 regions of Ukraine successful its latest overnight drone and rocket barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said connected Monday, with section authorities reporting that the strikes wounded much than 2 twelve civilians, including 3 children.

Russian forces fired 524 onslaught drones and 22 ballistic and cruise missiles, Zelenskyy said.

“Air raid alerts stay successful effect crossed galore borderline and frontline communities, but our services are operating wherever the information concern allows,” Zelenskyy wrote successful a station connected X.

“Russia relies connected ballistic missiles to onslaught radical and that is precisely wherefore we successful Europe indispensable bash everything imaginable to guarantee reliable extortion against this. Europe indispensable person its ain anti-ballistic systems and beryllium self-sufficient successful the look of these threats.”

Zelenskyy said that the Dnipropetrovsk portion bombardment lasted six hours and deed vigor facilities and residential buildings. At slightest 26 people, including 2 children, were wounded successful the region, Ukraine’s exigency work said.

Damage was besides reported successful Ukraine’s Odesa, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said that aerial defences downed 50 Ukrainian drones from precocious Sunday done aboriginal Monday.

The barrage continued a caller spiral of long-range strikes that person grown successful standard pursuing a 9-11 May ceasefire that US President Donald Trump said helium asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe but which had small impact.

There is nary motion a bid woody is taking signifier contempt US-led diplomatic efforts to extremity Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Russia hammered Ukraine implicit respective days past week, flattening a Kyiv flat gathering wherever 24 radical were killed.

One of Ukraine’s largest drone strikes connected Russia killed astatine slightest 4 people, including 3 adjacent Moscow, and wounded a twelve others, authorities said connected Sunday.

In much than 4 years of war, Ukraine has built up its ain long-range capabilities. It has been hitting lipid facilities that are 1 of the Russian economy’s mainstays arsenic good arsenic different targets heavy wrong Russia, making the Russian nationalist instrumentality notice.

That has accrued the unit connected Putin, whose service is struggling to marque advancement connected the battlefield and who claimed earlier this period that the warfare is approaching its end.

On Sunday, the Russian Defence Ministry said that much than 1,000 drones had been changeable down oregon jammed successful the erstwhile 24 hours, with astir 80 connected their mode to Moscow.

Zelenskyy claimed a important displacement is taking place.

“Our long-range capabilities are importantly changing the concern and, much broadly, the world’s cognition of Russia’s war,” Zelenskyy said connected X precocious connected Sunday.

“Many partners are present signalling that they spot what is happening and however everything has changed, some successful attitudes toward this warfare and successful the reachability of Russian targets connected Russian territory.”

Putin is owed to conscionable with Chinese President Xi Jinping successful Beijing this week. Cooperation betwixt the 2 countries has deepened successful caller years arsenic galore Western countries person sought to isolate the Russian leader.