Overview

• Russia deployed 537 drones and missiles overnight in its largest nocturnal strike, employing Tu-95MS bombers and MiG-31K jets.
• Ukraine’s air defences intercepted most of the incoming weapons, downing 211 drones and 33 cruise missiles.
• A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed after destroying seven aerial targets when his jet was struck during the assault.
• Explosions were reported in Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk and Cherkasy, prompting widespread air-raid alerts.
• In response to the strike, Poland and NATO scrambled fighter jets and elevated radar and air-defence readiness.