Russians Intensify Aerial Attacks against Ukraine

Ukrainian government and news media sources have tabulated a marked increase in Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian civilian residences and energy facilities.

Kyiv reported a 38% jump in combined Russian drone and missile attacks through September compared with August, Ukrainian Air Force data analyzed by ABC News showed, as Moscow intensified its nightly long-range barrages across the country. Most recently, Russia has begun daytime bombing runs against Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched a total of 5,636 drones and 187 missiles into the country through September. That meant a roughly 39% increase in the number of drones and a nearly 20% increase in the number of missiles versus August.

The air force reported a daily average of nearly 188 Russian drones and just over six Russian missiles in September. Defenders downed or suppressed almost 87% of all Russian drones and over 68% of Russian missiles through the month – rates roughly comparable with previous months.

To date, July 2025 was the busiest month for Ukrainian defenders, who faced 6,443 drones and missiles across the course of the month, per air force data.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine confirmed that the number of Ukrainians killed and injured in the first five months of 2025 has increased by 1.5 times compared to the same period in 2024. Russian attacks have become significantly more lethal, according to a report by the HRMMU.

“Ballistic missiles, when used in densely populated areas, cause predictable and widespread harm to civilians, as demonstrated by these recent attacks,” Danielle Bell, head of the HRMMU, said.

This deadly intensification comes at a time when the White House, national advocates for Ukraine and even Moscow claim to want peace. If and when peace comes to Ukraine, it must include the evacuation of all Russian cutthroats to Russia and the maintenance of Ukrainian territory and borders, according to international agreements.

Russian troops launched more than 3,100 drones, around 1,360 glide bombs and 92 missiles of various types on Ukraine in the past week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 12.

In a renewed effort to disrupt Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of winter, Russia carried out several large-scale missile and drone strikes on energy and gas facilities last week.

An overnight attack on October 10 led to widespread power outages across multiple regions. Civilian infrastructure was also hit, resulting in casualties both in Kyiv and in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Zelenskyy said Russia is purposefully ramping up attacks as global attention shifts to the Middle East, where Israel and Hamas this week agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered peace plan.

“That is precisely why no weakening of pressure can be allowed,” he said. “Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil — those who finance this war — must all remain on the table.”

In addition to deadly drones and missiles, the number of cyberattacks on Ukraine spiked by 69.8 percent in 2024, reaching 4,315 incidents, compared to 2023, when 2,541 cyber incidents were recorded, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection reports on their website.

Hackers most often targeted: local authorities, the government and government organizations, the security and defense sector, the energy sector, commercial organizations, and telecommunications.

The most common types of attacks included: distributing malicious software, phishing, malicious connection, and compromising accounts or systems.

The hackers’ goal is to steal sensitive information and to destroy data and information systems, notes the State Special Communications Service.

There is a steady trend towards an increase in cyberattacks today, primarily targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, notes the government’s computer emergency response team CERT-UA.

“The enemy does not abandon their attempts to destabilize our country with the help of cyber warfare. This indicates that confrontation in the cyber realm remains one of the hottest spots in the war,” they noted, suggesting that Russia would continue to employ all possible methods to obtain important intelligence.

Before the weekend, Russian drone and missile strikes overnight Friday, October 10, caused blackouts across large sections of Ukraine, damaged residential buildings and injured at least 20 people in Kyiv, authorities said. A child was killed in attacks in the southeast of the country.

In the heart of the Ukrainian capital, rescue crews pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-story apartment building as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were hospitalized, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.

The Russian “cynical and calculated” strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepared for falling winter temperatures, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Nonetheless, the people remember and pay tribute to Ukraine’s fallen heroes, according to the Associated Press. Every morning at 9 o’clock, Kyiv stops for a minute.

Traffic lights turn red, and the steady beat of a metronome on loudspeakers signals 60 seconds of reflection. Cars idle in the middle of the street as drivers step out and stand with heads bowed.

Across Ukraine — in cafes, gyms, schools, on television and even on the front lines — people pause to remember those killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The world must also remember and pay tribute to Ukrainians killed defending their homeland as well as protecting Europe.