Glide Bombs Hit Zaporizhzhia; Ukraine Drones Hit Russia
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Russia dropped eight Soviet-era glide bombs in 90 minutes on Zaporizhzhia's residential districts, killing a 71-year-old woman and wounding 31 (including a 16-year-old) and damaging 22 apartment buildings across four districts.
- Ukrainian drone debris killed six people in Arkhipo-Osipovka on Russia's Black Sea coast and wounded 40, while three more died in Kyiv's overnight attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Russian-installed officials.
- Zelensky issued an urgent plea for U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, noting only Patriots can reliably stop ballistic missiles but supplies are short due to the Iran war.
- Trump appeared to back off his earlier commitment to license Ukraine to manufacture Patriots itself, saying Friday the matter remains under discussion with no final decision.
- Zelensky separately proposed letting Ukraine use Musk's Starlink satellites to target ballistic missile launch sites inside Russia — an alternative officials haven't publicly weighed.
- Ukrainian drones struck the Engels air base — the main base for Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers — plus the Saratov oil refinery and another Wildberries warehouse in the Vladimir region, the latest in a campaign that has hit more than a dozen of the retailer's distribution hubs.
- Russia launched 181 long-range strike drones overnight; Ukrainian defenses intercepted or jammed 163 but 14 caused damage at 13 locations, while Russian air defenses reported intercepting 131 Ukrainian drones of their own.
Why it matters: The mutual escalation shows both sides are running low on defensive countermeasures — Ukraine lacks Patriots (the only system that reliably stops ballistic missiles) while Russia can't shield Black Sea towns or its strategic bomber base from drones. With Trump still weighing the Patriot license, Zelensky's Starlink proposal reveals Kyiv exploring unconventional alternatives to plug the gap.
