Ukraine reports Russia’s largest aerial assault since the beginning of the war.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia has launched its most extensive aerial assault on Ukraine to date. A Ukrainian official reported that this significant bombing campaign has further diminished hopes for a resolution to the ongoing war, which has persisted for three years.

The Ukrainian air force noted that Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles. Ukraine successfully intercepted 249 of these aerial threats, but 226 were lost, likely due to electronic jamming.

This massive airstrike is the most significant since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and affected numerous areas, including western Ukraine, well beyond the front lines. To protect its airspace, Poland and allied nations scrambled aircraft in response to the threat.

Casualties from the assault were reported, including three fatalities from drone strikes in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Additionally, one person was killed by an airstrike in Kostyantynivka, and further attacks resulted in additional fatalities, such as the discovery of a 70-year-old woman under debris in Zaporizhzhia after a Russian shelling.

In the Lviv region, a significant fire broke out at an industrial site in Drohobych due to a drone attack, disrupting electricity in parts of the city. Ukraine’s air force also reported the loss of one of its F-16 warplanes, supplied by Western allies, during these engagements, resulting in the death of the pilot.

On another front, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have downed three Ukrainian drones, while two people were injured in a drone incident in Bryansk, Russia. Meanwhile, Russia asserted its control over the village of Novoukrainka in the Donetsk region.

In a recent development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree withdrawing Ukraine from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits antipersonnel land mines. This decision aligns with similar moves by neighboring countries as they adapt to the realities of ongoing conflict.