Russia Launches 524 Drones and 22 Missiles in Overnight Attacks Across Eight Ukrainian Oblasts

Ukraine said Russia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles in a prolonged overnight assault that struck eight oblasts, damaging civilian infrastructure in the Dnipro and Odesa regions and wounding dozens of people, according to Ukrainian officials on May 18. President Volodymyr Zelensky said children were among the injured. Ukrainian media described it as one of the larger single-night drone attacks of the war.

Ukraine’s Air Force said it detected 546 air attack objects between about 6 p.m. on May 17 and the morning of May 18: 524 drones and 22 missiles. In a preliminary morning update, the Air Force said Ukrainian air defenses had intercepted or otherwise suppressed 507 targets, including 503 drones and four missiles. The military said the barrage included ballistic and cruise missiles, along with Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones. The figures were early and could be revised.

Among the areas hit were Dnipro city and the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, where regional authorities and local media reported damage to a multistory residential building and other civilian infrastructure. Early regional reporting cited by Ukrainian outlet OBOZ said about 26 people were injured in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, including 18 in Dnipro. Odesa oblast also came under attack, with early Ukrainian reports saying houses, a lyceum and a kindergarten were damaged. Regional tallies there also reported injuries, including to children.

Zelensky said the overnight strikes caused destruction across eight oblasts and left dozens wounded nationwide, including children, though a final consolidated national casualty total was not yet available in the reporting reviewed. He used the attack to renew his appeal for stronger air defense, especially systems better able to counter ballistic missiles, framing the barrage as another example of the pressure Russia is able to put on Ukraine’s defenses.

Zelensky also said one drone struck a vessel he described as belonging to China. Ukrainian media echoed that account, but the claim had not been independently confirmed in the early reporting by Chinese officials or neutral maritime authorities. Given Odesa’s central role in Black Sea shipping, any confirmed strike on a foreign-linked merchant vessel would be sensitive.

Russia has repeatedly launched large combined waves of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure since 2022, and Ukrainian officials say the tactic is intended to overwhelm air defenses. By the figures released by Ukraine’s Air Force, the reported 524 drones made this one of the largest single-night drone barrages cited in Ukrainian press summaries during the war.