Russia Launches One of Largest Aerial Attacks of 2026: 666 UAVs and Missiles Hit Dnipro, Kharkiv, Nizhyn — 7 Killed

Russia deployed 666 aerial assets overnight into April 25 — 619 drones (approximately 400 Shahed-type kamikaze drones) and 47 missiles (35 cruise missiles including Kh-101 and Kalibr types, 12 ballistic missiles including Iskander-M) — in one of the largest combined strikes since 2022. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 610 targets (580 drones, 30 missiles), but 56 penetrated across 23 oblasts. Dnipro was hardest hit, enduring more than 12 consecutive hours of strikes: a residential four-story building was destroyed, an industrial facility and gas station struck (3 trucks consumed by fire); 5 killed and 30+ injured. Kharkiv's Kyivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts were struck, destroying a public transport stop and damaging a gas pipeline; a 1.5-year-old child suffered acute stress. In Chernihiv Oblast's Nizhyn, 2 were killed and 2 injured after Russian drone and rocket attacks. Odesa Oblast port infrastructure was hit and a Panama-flagged civilian vessel was damaged. Total casualties: at least 7 killed and 57 injured, including children aged 9 and 17, with 23 hospitalized and two women in critical condition. Russian drone debris crossed into Romania for the first time causing physical property damage (electricity pole and a household annex in Galati; 200+ residents evacuated), prompting Romania to summon the Russian ambassador. In a historic NATO first, a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 — on NATO Air Policing mission from Romania — fired an air-to-air missile to destroy a Russian UAV approximately 1.5 km from the Romanian-Ukrainian border, the first confirmed case of a NATO aircraft shooting down a Russian drone over Ukrainian territory.