Russia launched another overnight barrage of missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens of others, according to Ukrainian officials. The strikes hit residential areas across multiple regions, continuing Moscow’s pattern of sustained pressure on civilian infrastructure as ground fighting grinds on in the east.
In a notable Ukrainian counterpunch, the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces struck a Russian Buk-M3 air defense system in occupied Snizhne — roughly 98 kilometers from the front line — and hit a drone storage and launch site in occupied Donetsk City. The Buk-M3 is one of Russia’s more capable medium-range air defense systems; its destruction, if confirmed, degrades Russia’s ability to intercept Ukrainian drone swarms over occupied territory.
Ukraine also struck a Russian oil refinery and a Wildberries logistics facility in Volgograd, deep inside Russian territory. The Volgograd strike is part of Ukraine’s sustained campaign against Russian economic and industrial targets — a strategy aimed at raising the domestic cost of the war for Russian civilians and disrupting supply chains that feed the front.
On the ground, Russian forces have reportedly completed their seizure of Hulyaipole, a town in Zaporizhzhia Oblast that has been contested for months.
The broader diplomatic picture remains frozen. Zelensky met with Trump in Washington earlier this week, with discussions focused on strengthening Ukrainian air defenses. No breakthrough on a ceasefire framework was reported. Putin, for his part, has been publicly projecting confidence about battlefield awareness as Moscow continues to take territory in Donbass which the Ukrainian military cannot stop.
President Trump hedged on providing Ukraine licenses to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine.
Sources close to the situation tell CDM that Trump is looking for a way to exit the war and bring it to a close.
The overnight strikes underscore the unchanged strategic reality: Russia continues to use long-range strikes to destroy military infrastructure, while Ukrainian forces pursue a parallel strategy of hitting Russian military assets and economic infrastructure wherever they can reach. Neither side is close to a negotiated end.
Hellbound and Down 