Russia Fires 800 Drones at Ukraine in Massive Daytime Barrage
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- Russia fired at least 800 drones in a daytime barrage across about 20 Ukrainian regions on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens including children, in what Zelenskyy called 'one of the longest, massive Russian attacks' of the 4-year war.
- President Zelenskyy warned a cruise and ballistic missile attack could follow the drone barrage and said Russia's goal is to 'overload air defenses,' while strikes hit Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and other population centers over several hours.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar summoned the Russian ambassador over a drone strike near Hungary's border, a major departure from his predecessor Viktor Orbán's friendly Russia relations, and said Hungary 'strongly condemns' the attack on Transcarpathia.
- Trump and Putin both suggested the war is nearing an end without offering evidence, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow's terms remain unchanged — demanding Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia before any ceasefire.
- Ukraine's military position has shifted in its favor, with the Institute for the Study of War reporting Russian forces recorded a net loss of territory last month for the first time since 2024 and Russia's spring offensive floundering.
- The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 286 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, Crimea, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea on Wednesday, reflecting Ukraine's long-range strikes deep inside Russia.
Why it matters: The article makes the gap between political rhetoric and battlefield reality concrete: Trump says peace is 'getting very close' while Moscow's terms still require Ukraine to surrender four illegally annexed regions, and Russia just carried out one of the war's largest barrages. Hungary's new government summoning the Russian ambassador signals that even Orbán's former allies are now willing to publicly rebuke Moscow.
