Russia steps up airstrikes as it faces difficulties on land

Russia's airstrikes have increased considerably in recent months, hitting Ukraine with more drones and high-speed missiles than ever before as Moscow's forces struggle to make significant gains on the ground.

The massive strikes are designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, with huge waves of cheap drones, followed by high-speed ballistic missiles and finally cruise missiles, in a succession carefully planned to inflict maximum damage.

Experts say this "overload" approach allows more missiles to hit the target.

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Attacks on Tuesday included eight high-speed "Zircon" hypersonic missiles - virtually impossible to shoot down and powerful enough to destroy aircraft carriers - the largest number ever used in a single offensive, according to Ukrainian authorities.

None of these eight hypersonic missiles were intercepted. The bombing left 23 dead and 151 injured across the country, Ukrainian authorities said.

A crucial factor in the increase in the frequency and intensity of airstrikes is that "Russia is really struggling to make significant gains on the battlefield," said Thomas Withington, a research associate in military science at the British think tank Rusi (Royal United Services Institute).

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In April, Ukraine even retook more territory than Russia had conquered, for the first time since 2024.

"This means that if you are Russia... your mechanism for exerting military pressure on Ukraine is diminished," Withington told CNN.

"I think that, given the current situation, the use of air power is possibly the only avenue available to the Russian leadership that hopes to have some kind of strategic effect on Ukraine," he added.

At the beginning of this year, Russia launched around 5,000 Shahed attack drones per month. That number increased to more than 8,000 last month, according to an analysis by CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), a think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Although some of these drones manage to hit targets, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to homes and infrastructure, analysts at RUSI and CSIS say Ukraine's air defenses are faring remarkably well considering the magnitude of the Russian attacks.

Firefighters fight fires after Russian attack hits Kiev, capital of Ukraine - Reproduction/Reuters
Ukraine has maintained drone interception rates roughly the same as before the recent escalation, shooting down around 90% of them each month and using electronic warfare to divert some munitions from populated areas.

But the country is having more difficulty intercepting ballistic missiles and "Zircon" hypersonic missiles, which move at incredibly high speeds and require more advanced interceptors to shoot down.

Tuesday's attacks in Ukraine included 41 ballistic missiles - more than the number launched by Russia during the entirety of last month.

Thirty of them hit targets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CBS News that he only receives about 60 to 65 interceptor missiles per month due to production limitations.

"There are not enough missiles for the Patriot system; many were used in the Middle East," Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told CNN on Tuesday after the intense overnight bombardment.

"Another factor is how the enemy uses its missiles - that is, they use ballistic missiles specifically against regions less protected against this type of attack," he added.

Experts highlighted that given limited defense resources, the capital, Kiev - a key strategic target and seat of government - should be better defended than other regions and less populated areas.

Still, the Russian munitions that managed to reach Kiev on Tuesday damaged several multi-story residential and commercial buildings, causing fires and burning cars in the streets.

Some military installations were also hit, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The city's air defenses appeared less active during the latest wave of Russian attacks on Tuesday morning. CNN producers heard continuous explosions, but not the sound of defense systems firing.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the offensive caused numerous casualties in the city of Dnipro and hit energy facilities in the Kharkiv region, authorities said.

At least one of the attacks was a so-called "double shooting", killing a firefighter in Dnipro while he was responding to an incident.

What is Oreshnik, a hypersonic missile used in a major attack against Kiev?

Source: CNN