Russia launches heavy overnight drone and missile strikes on Odesa, Dnipro

Russia’s overnight barrage on Odesa and Dnipro again showed how the war is being fought as a grinding contest of endurance, with civilians, air defenses and energy infrastructure absorbing the pressure. Ukraine’s air force said Moscow launched 524 drones and 22 missiles beginning early Sunday evening and continuing through the night, one of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

Dnipro and the surrounding region bore the main . At least 22 people were injured in the city, including a 2-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, and another eight were hurt in the wider area. Oleksandr Hanzha, the regional governor, said apartment blocks, a religious institution and a university were damaged, while photos posted online showed shattered balconies and firefighters working to contain blazes. Ukraine said its air defenses shot down or neutralized 503 drones and four missiles, but the scale of the attack still left a visible trail of destruction across the city.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strike lasted more than six hours and urged Europe to do everything possible to ensure reliable protection against Russian ballistic missile strikes. The attack pattern underscored the strategic strain on Ukraine: even when most incoming weapons are intercepted, a barrage of this size can still injure dozens of people, damage critical buildings and force emergency crews to race from one blast site to another. It also highlights the broader question of whether Russia can keep wearing down Ukraine’s defenses faster than Kyiv’s Western partners can replenish them.

Odesa was hit in the same wave. Local officials said Russian drones damaged residential buildings, a school and a kindergarten, injuring an 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man. Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state energy company, said several of its facilities in the region were also struck, adding to repeated attacks on energy assets that have shadowed the war for years and left the grid vulnerable every time long-range weapons are launched.

The assault came after a heavy Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow at the weekend, and Russian officials said two people were killed in Ukrainian strikes on Russia, including one in the Belgorod region. The exchange reflects a conflict that has become a war of attrition in the air as much as on the ground, with both sides targeting military, civilian and energy assets while peace efforts remain stalled.