Russia has launched a continuous aerial assault on Ukraine since Thursday evening, Ukraine’s air force said Friday, reporting a heavy influx of enemy drones in Ukrainian airspace.
The strikes mark the second time this week Moscow has paired an overnight drone barrage with intense daytime attacks, a tactic aimed at probing Ukraine’s air defenses.
Air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told state television that Russia is employing new flight routes, upgraded drones, and evolving tactics.
Over the past 24 hours, more than 400 long-range drones and 10 ballistic missiles hit areas near the frontline, he said.
The bombardment mirrors Tuesday’s attacks, when a night of more than 300 drones was followed by a midday wave, killing at least four people.
Large-scale Russian strikes disrupt daily life across Ukraine, forcing closures of government offices, public transport, and businesses for hours at a time.
“The enemy is exerting pressure on our population, paralyzing the work of certain public institutions, as well as educational institutions,” Ihnat said.
In the eastern region of Kharkiv, one person was killed and 25 others were injured by missile, bomb, and drone attacks over the past 24 hours, governor Oleh Syniehubov said on social media.
That included four ballistic missiles that struck the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, overnight. Authorities reported only one injury from that strike.
The eastern Ukrainian city has been subjected to nearly constant Russian air strikes for more than a day, authorities said Friday. Four missile strikes were recorded overnight, Syniehubov, the military governor of the Kharkiv region, wrote on Telegram.
Drones were also deployed, he said. In the morning, police reported five people injured and damage to residential and office buildings.
On Thursday, the Russian army repeatedly attacked Kharkiv with combat drones, with air raid sirens sounding almost around the clock. Ukrainian emergency services reported that Russian drones of the Iranian Shahed type, with fast jet propulsion, were used. Their short flight time from Russia makes defense difficult.
Ukraine's second-largest city, which had a population of 1.4 million before the war, lies about 40 kilometers from the Russian border.
On the Russian side, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow reported that 192 Ukrainian drones were intercepted Thursday night. No information was available regarding any hits. The trajectory of the Ukrainian attacks suggested that Russian oil export ports on the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg were once again a target.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Good Friday marked the 1,500th day of the large-scale Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to march into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
