Russia fired 13 missiles and 115 drones at Ukraine overnight, combining guided missiles with Shahed attack drones and low-cost decoys in another effort to stretch Ukrainian air defenses while targeting Black Sea logistics. Ukraine’s Air Force said defenders destroyed or electronically suppressed 102 of the 128 aerial weapons, while two missiles and 19 drones struck 12 locations, with debris falling across another 12 sites. According to the Air Force, the attack included nine Kh-59/69 guided air-launched missiles, four Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles and a mix of Shahed-type drones launched from Kursk, Oryol, Bryansk and occupied Crimea.
A significant portion of the drone package was designed not to destroy targets but to exhaust Ukraine’s defenses. The Air Force identified the 115 drones as a combination of Shahed strike drones and Gerbera, Italmas and “Parodiya” (“Parody”) decoys – low-cost unmanned aircraft built to imitate the Shahed’s radar and visual signature. Because defenders cannot reliably distinguish a decoy from an armed drone until late in its flight, they are often forced to expend scarce interceptor missiles against inexpensive targets. The tactic creates an economic cost alongside the military one, forcing Ukraine to consume high-value air-defense resources to defeat low-value threats.
Odesa and the neighboring port of Chornomorsk were among the principal targets. Odesa Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper said drones damaged infrastructure in Odesa district as well as two private homes and three vehicles, with no casualties reported. Russia’s Defence Ministry separately claimed it had struck port infrastructure used to receive and store military cargo, including facilities linked to the Odesa Sea Trade Port and vessels supplying Ukrainian forces. Those claims could not be independently verified. Russia has repeatedly targeted Odesa-region ports in recent weeks in an apparent effort to disrupt Ukraine’s Black Sea shipping corridor and military logistics. Elsewhere, Ukrainian authorities reported strikes and casualties in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Sumy regions, including two people killed in a Shahed attack on an industrial enterprise in Kryvyi Rih. Damage assessments were continuing at the time of publication.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urged Ukraine’s partners to accelerate deliveries of air-defense systems and interceptor missiles, arguing that Russia’s saturation tactics are steadily increasing pressure on Ukraine’s ability to protect civilians and critical infrastructure.
