Russia launched over 100 drones targeting civilian areas in Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed its transport minister following widespread travel disruptions over the weekend caused by fears of Ukrainian drone strikes.
At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 others, including three children, were injured in Russian attacks over the past 24 hours, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Russia has intensified its aerial assaults on Ukrainian civilian targets in recent weeks, more than three years into the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Monday that Russia had deployed approximately 1,270 drones, 39 missiles, and nearly 1,000 glide bombs against Ukraine over the past week alone.
Meanwhile, Russia's military continues its efforts to break through certain sections of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian forces remain stretched thin.
Amid mounting pressure from Russia’s invasion, limited progress in peace negotiations, and last week's suspension of some promised U.S. weapons deliveries, Ukraine has been pushing for increased military support from the U.S. and European allies.
Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that Ukraine had signed new agreements with European partners and a major U.S. defense manufacturer to ramp up drone production, with plans to deliver "hundreds of thousands" more drones this year.
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“Air defense is the key to protecting lives,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram Monday, noting the importance of producing interceptor drones to counter Russia’s long-range Shahed drones. Drones have also played a crucial role in helping Ukraine offset its manpower shortages along the front line.
In the latest Russian drone attacks, one person was killed in Odesa, 27 injured in Kharkiv, and falling debris damaged parts of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
In northern Ukraine’s Sumy region, Russian short-range drone strikes killed two people and wounded two more. Sumy has seen a significant Russian military buildup in recent weeks.
In the eastern Donetsk region, regional head Vadym Filashkin reported seven deaths and nine injuries, though he did not specify the type of weapons used.
Ukraine’s Army Ground Forces command said Russian long-range drone strikes targeted military recruitment centers for the third time in five days, apparently aiming to disrupt troop mobilization. Additional strikes in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia injured at least 17 people, regional officials said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces intercepted 91 Ukrainian drones across 13 Russian regions, as well as over the Black Sea and Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt, according to an official decree published on the Kremlin's website. His deputy, Andrey Nikitin, was appointed acting transport minister. Nikitin previously served as governor of Russia’s Novgorod region.
The Kremlin did not provide a reason for Starovoyt’s dismissal, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.
The minister’s removal follows a chaotic weekend of mass flight cancellations and delays at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airports, as well as disruptions at other airports in western and central Russia, all linked to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. Thousands of passengers faced lengthy delays as a result.