Russian Glide Bomb Strike on Zaporizhzhia Kills One and Wounds Dozens
Yesterday evening, a barrage of Russian glide bombs struck Zaporizhzhia, killing a 71-year-old woman and injuring 31 others across four city districts.
Russian forces launched a salvo of glide bombs at a city in southern Ukraine, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to an Associated Press report. The strike represents a continuation of the aerial bombardment campaign that has characterized the war since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Glide bombs, which allow aircraft to strike targets from a distance without entering Ukrainian air defense range, have become an increasingly prominent weapon in Russia's arsenal throughout the conflict.
Russian planes dropped eight glide bombs on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in a 90-minute span on Sunday evening, killing a 71-year-old woman and wounding 31 people, including a 16-year-old girl, regional chief Ivan Fedorov said Monday. The strike damaged 22 apartment buildings across four districts of the city, according to Fedorov’s assessment of the overnight onslaught (AP India).
The weapons used are Soviet-era bombs retrofitted with guidance systems, capable of carrying up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of explosives. Russia has deployed these glide bombs to strike Ukrainian towns and cities since the full-scale invasion began more than four years ago, exploiting a critical gap in Ukraine’s defenses. Ukrainian officials acknowledge they have no effective countermeasures against the munitions, which allow Russian aircraft to release payloads from distances that keep them outside the range of Ukrainian air defense systems (AP India).
The Zaporizhzhia barrage came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed an urgent appeal for additional U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, stating that only Patriot interceptors can reliably stop ballistic missiles. He attributed the short supply to competing demands from the Iran war. “The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision to provide the necessary packages,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media late Sunday. “Anti-ballistic missiles must protect people — not sit in stockpiles” (AP India).
The request faces uncertainty in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump said last Friday that a potential license for Ukraine to manufacture Patriots domestically remains under discussion and that he has not made a final decision, appearing to step back from an earlier commitment. Zelenskyy has floated an alternative proposal involving Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites to target ballistic missile launch sites inside Russia, though officials have not publicly indicated whether that option is under serious consideration (AP India).
Overnight into Monday, the Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched 181 long-range strike drones, saying air defenses intercepted 163 but that 14 caused damage at 13 locations. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces struck four bulk carriers carrying cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces, three in the Black Sea and one in the port of Mykolaiv, without providing further details. Separately, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said a Ukrainian attack on the peninsula overnight killed three people and wounded two (AP India).
The violence extended deeper into Russian territory. Ukrainian drones struck a major warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in the Vladimir region, causing a significant fire. The company said the facility caught fire after a drone attack, part of a campaign that has hit more than a dozen of its distribution hubs. Regional governors said Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia killed eight people in total (Reuters India).
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Sunday labeled a Saturday evening bombing at the upscale Balzi Rossi restaurant a “brutal terrorist act.” The blast killed three people, including the woman who carried the explosive device, and wounded at least 21. A security guard had reportedly refused the woman entry before the device detonated. Sobyanin said a probe was underway and vowed those responsible would be found, though authorities have not drawn connections to the war in Ukraine or previous attacks on Russian soil (AP India).
AP India·PIB·Reuters India