Russia's air defences intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major overnight attack targeting 12 Russian regions, as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday.
The barrage appeared to be one of the largest drone attacks on Russia and illegally annexed Crimea since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. The previous largest Ukrainian drone assault over the past year involved 556 drones on 17 May.
In an effort to shift the momentum in Russia's grinding war of attrition, Ukraine has spent months using long-range drones to strike targets behind the front line and deep inside Russia, including oil production sites and energy infrastructure. Western officials and analysts say the campaign has disrupted Russian fuel supplies and military logistics, slowing Moscow's battlefield operations and increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Initial damage reports from Russia provided little detail. The Defence Ministry typically does not specify the intended targets of Ukrainian drone attacks or disclose the extent of any damage.
Ukraine's Security Service said it had used drones to strike Russian naval vessels and air defence radar systems in Kerch, a strategically important port city in Crimea.
According to the agency, the targets included two reconnaissance and mine-laying ships, the Volga and the Vyatka, as well as the cargo-passenger ferry Petropavlovsk. It claimed the strikes triggered a large fire. The claim could not be independently verified.
The large-scale attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he had ordered "a 40-day influence operation", widely interpreted as an escalation of attacks aimed at "compelling (Russia) to end the war", after US-led peace efforts over the past year failed to produce a breakthrough.
Recent successful strikes, including attacks on targets in Moscow and St Petersburg, have boosted morale in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he secured further commitments of international support during the recent G7 summit, including from US President Donald Trump, adding that the promised assistance would help Ukraine intensify efforts to bring Putin to the negotiating table.
A NATO summit next month could provide another opportunity to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities.
In Russia's Tula region, just south of Moscow, a private house was damaged and a woman was injured in the overnight attack, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said in an online statement, as reports of damage began to emerge.
He also said a power line and an unspecified industrial facility in the city of Novomoskovsk had been damaged.
Independent Russian news outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydroelectric power station in Novomoskovsk were hit and caught fire. The Associated Press could not independently verify the report, and there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 47 Ukrainian drones had been shot down while approaching the Russian capital. He reported no casualties or damage.
Two people were killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks across the north-eastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Friday.
Russian forces struck the city of Kharkiv and 16 other settlements across the region using guided aerial bombs and various types of drones, Syniehubov said.
Ukraine's air force said its air defences intercepted 174 of 189 Russian drones launched overnight. However, four of the seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles fired by Russia penetrated the country's air defences and struck multiple locations.
Ukrainian officials reported damage to energy facilities, homes and other civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, as well as in the southern Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions and the north-eastern Sumy region. Authorities said at least six people were wounded.
Although Russia is expanding several military facilities deeper inside Belarus, there is currently no build-up of Russian forces near Ukraine's northern border, a spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said on Friday.
Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine from Belarus, which borders both countries, and Kyiv has closely monitored military activity there throughout the war.
Ukrainian intelligence has detected no concentration or reinforcement of Russian troops, military equipment or personnel near the border, spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Ukrainian television.
He said, however, that Russia continues to expand training grounds, military bases and other facilities deeper inside Belarus.