(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Russian forces launched a massive overnight aerial assault on multiple Ukrainian cities, killing at least 14 civilians including a 12 year old boy, as the Kremlin issued thinly veiled threats against European defence manufacturers aiding Ukraine’s war effort.<\/p>\n
The barrage comprised more than 700 drones and missiles targeting the capital Kyiv, Dnipro, and the southern port city of Odesa, according to Yuriy Sak, former adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister. In Odesa, nine civilians perished in their homes. In Kyiv, five people were killed amid the blasts. Emergency services continue to sift through rubble for additional victims, prompting local authorities to declare a day of mourning.<\/p>\n
Sak, speaking to Times Radio from central Kyiv, described a terrifying scene around 2:00 a.m. local time when air defence systems engaged incoming cruise and ballistic missiles directly overhead. “It felt like it was happening in my kitchen,” Sak said. “I am struggling to even imagine how it feels for mothers with children and elderly people who have to jump up and run to shelter not knowing whether they will have enough time to find safety.”<\/p>\n
The attack came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of a critical shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles, a deficit Sak linked directly to the diversion of global attention and US military resources toward escalating tensions in the Gulf region involving Iran.<\/p>\n
Amid the destruction, Sak pointed to growing alarm within the Russian defence apparatus regarding the rapid expansion of Ukraine’s domestic and joint international drone production capabilities. More than 50 percent of weaponry currently deployed by Ukrainian forces on the front line is now produced domestically, despite Russian strikes repeatedly targeting defence industrial sites.<\/p>\n
This burgeoning defence ecosystem, which includes joint ventures with firms in Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria, has provoked an unusual reaction from Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defence recently published a list of specific street addresses in Western nations where it alleges these collaborative enterprises operate. Sak interpreted the move as an implicit threat that these sites are now “legitimate targets for Russian drones and other means of warfare.”<\/p>\n
“Russia is freaking out when they see this process,” Sak stated. “We are witnessing the emergence of a defence industry ecosystem which is interconnected and interdependent. Together we will be stronger.”<\/p>\n
The former official noted that the Ukrainian government has the industrial capacity to produce weaponry valued at 50 billion US dollars (approximately 40.6 billion British pounds) this year, yet currently possesses only 15 billion US dollars (12.2 billion British pounds) in funding to pay for these contracts. He urged Western allies to allocate more financial support directly to Ukrainian manufacturers.<\/p>\n
On the diplomatic front, Sak welcomed the recent electoral setback for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom he labelled a “Kremlin stooge” responsible for blocking European Union decisions on Ukraine, including a vital 90 billion euro (77.6 billion British pounds or 95.4 billion US dollars) financing facility. While acknowledging that Slovakia’s government could still pose obstacles, Sak expressed optimism that EU mechanisms would prevent a single member state from derailing essential aid.<\/p>\n
Sak also addressed the novel battlefield tactics emerging from the conflict. He confirmed that Ukrainian forces recently executed an operation planned and conducted entirely by unmanned systems forces to retake territory, a mission he described as executed “exclusively by robots” from reconnaissance to the capture of prisoners of war. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has announced the formation of specialised “drone assault brigades” that will integrate aerial bombers, reconnaissance units, and ground vehicles equipped with automated turrets.<\/p>\n
The aim, Sak explained, is to transition toward a robotic frontline where machines capable of 24 hour operation without fatigue gradually replace human soldiers in the most dangerous positions. He described a 15 kilometre wide “kill zone” along the current line of contact where no human or vehicle can survive due to the density of drone swarms operated by both armies.<\/p>\n
Regarding the prospect of negotiations, Sak remained sceptical of Russian intentions, stating that the Russian dictator has shown no willingness to compromise since talks began. He emphasised that polling in Ukraine consistently shows the population is unwilling to cede sovereign territory. “Why do Russians believe that if they cannot gain this territory militarily, we will just hand it over to them?” Sak asked. “That is just ridiculous.”<\/p>\n
Sak predicted that a combination of deep strike drone attacks on Russian economic infrastructure, compounded by Western sanctions and unsustainable Russian casualty rates, would eventually force a shift in Moscow’s calculus. He estimated that if Ukrainian forces can neutralise 50,000 Russian soldiers per month, the cumulative effect could make the war untenable for the Kremlin by the autumn.<\/p>\n