Russia’s Massive Missile and Drone Assault on Ukraine Causes Heavy Casualties and Threatens Key Infrastructure

Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Monday, resulting in significant casualties and widespread damage to the country’s energy infrastructure. The assault, which is considered one of the largest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, involved over 100 missiles and 100 drones.

Ukrainian officials reported that at least five people were killed in the attack, which also severely damaged critical civilian infrastructure, particularly in the energy sector. Despite this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured the public that restoration efforts were already underway in areas affected by power outages.

The scale of the attack was immense, involving a variety of weapons such as Shahed attack drones, Kh-101 and Kh-22 cruise missiles, Kalibr submarine-launched cruise missiles, Iskander-M ballistic missiles, Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, and Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, this combination of air-, land-, and sea-based missiles underscores the intensity of the operation. The deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure is consistent with Russia’s previous strategies in the ongoing conflict.

Financial assessments by Ukrainian sources, including Forbes Ukraine and Ekonmichna Pravda, estimate that the cost of the attack to Russia ranged between $1.2 to $1.3 billion. While these figures have not been independently confirmed, they highlight the substantial financial burden of such large-scale operations.

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) expressed doubts about Russia’s capacity to maintain such frequent, large-scale strikes, suggesting that its defense-industrial capabilities might be insufficient for sustained operations at this level.

A particularly concerning aspect of Monday’s attack was a missile strike on a dam connected to the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant. This incident sparked fears of potential flooding that could have devastating consequences.

The dam, located on the Dnieper River in Kyiv oblast, is crucial for regulating water levels in the Kyiv Reservoir. Yaroslav Trofimov of The Wall Street Journal warned that a breach of the dam could result in the deaths of millions downstream, underscoring the potential severity of the situation.

Despite the initial fears, Ukrainian officials later clarified that the missile strike on the dam did not cause significant damage to the plant’s infrastructure.

Geolocated footage confirmed the attack, but Kyiv Oblast Head Ruslan Kravchenko reported that the dam’s structural integrity remained intact, preventing the feared flooding. This outcome provided some relief amid the broader destruction caused by the Russian assault, as the worst-case scenario was averted for the time being.