4 minWorld
Russia intensifies drone and missile campaign against Ukraine as fears grow over war's end
Russia has launched nearly 1,500 drones against Ukraine in four days, targeting logistics and food infrastructure, while new reporting suggests President Vladimir Putin fears the war's end could threaten his position.
Russia has intensified its aerial campaign against Ukraine, launching nearly 1,500 drones over four days and expanding attacks into daylight hours, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. More than half of the drones were jet-powered, and the strikes have repeatedly interrupted Kyiv's metro system and forced residents to seek shelter during daytime air raid alerts as the capital endures near-constant warnings.
The attacks have stretched into a fifth consecutive day in Kyiv and the surrounding region, with strikes damaging warehouses, a retail outlet and residential buildings. Russian President Vladimir Putin has simultaneously targeted Ukraine's warehouses and logistics network, damaging distribution centers used by major retailers and disrupting food deliveries. Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said roughly 90% of the food logistics infrastructure operated by retail chains has been destroyed, though he insisted Ukrainians will not be left without food as retailers shift to alternative delivery methods.
Ukrainian outlets report that some NOVUS locations in Kyiv were short of bread, potatoes, apples and oatmeal, while supermarket chain ATB introduced limits on how much of certain products customers could purchase. The campaign against commercial infrastructure is part of a broader Russian effort to wear down Ukraine's population as the war enters a new phase, with residents preparing for the start of the school year while being forced underground.
Ukraine has expanded its own campaign against Russian economic infrastructure, targeting oil facilities and warehouses connected to major online retailers including Wildberries and Ozon. A logistics hub in Yekaterinburg was also struck by a drone, according to Reuters. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, a former USAF assistant vice chief of staff, said military momentum has increasingly shifted toward Ukraine, particularly because of Kyiv's expanding use of long-range drones against Russian energy production and logistics supply chains.
Newton cautioned that Ukraine faces a critical vulnerability as Russia intensifies its aerial campaign, citing a shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, which are also in heavy demand elsewhere around the world. The escalation comes amid new reporting about Putin's calculations over how the war can end. The Economist reported that Putin fears ending the war without Russia achieving control of all of Donbas could threaten his position and potentially his physical safety, citing an unnamed insider who said Putin told people around him, «They will hang me.»
The Economist also reported that dissatisfaction with the war is growing among ordinary Russians and that the mood among parts of Russia's elite is even more pessimistic, with one source arguing that nearly five years consumed by the war represents a failure regardless of its eventual outcome. Newton argued that the intensifying confrontation makes NATO cohesion increasingly important, saying a weakened NATO emboldens Putin not only against Ukraine but against the entire alliance.
