Russian forces launched a massive overnight drone assault on Ukraine using 133 unmanned aerial vehicles, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on August 2. Air defense units destroyed or suppressed 109 of the drones, but 24 strike UAVs penetrated defenses and hit targets across 19 locations in multiple regions.
Six people were killed and at least 81 injured in attacks spanning the past 24 hours, according to regional authorities. The heaviest damage was reported in the southern city of Mykolaiv, where drone strikes hit residential and industrial areas. In Kharkiv, drones struck the Industrial District and the village of Lohachivka, injuring five people including two children and a rescue worker.
The attack represented one of the largest single-night drone waves Russia has launched against Ukraine in recent weeks. The Air Force issued urgent safety warnings as the assault was still ongoing, urging civilians to remain in shelters. The mix of Shahed-type attack drones and other UAV variants stretched air defense systems across a wide geographic area.
The overnight assault came just days after Ukraine carried out its own deep strikes hitting three oil refineries in Bashkortostan, over 1,600 kilometers inside Russia, and sinking a Rosatom-controlled container ship in the Black Sea. The tit-for-tat aerial exchanges have intensified sharply through late July and early August as both sides escalate their long-range strike campaigns.
Russia has increasingly relied on mass drone launches to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, which have struggled with ammunition shortages despite continued Western deliveries. Ukraine’s Air Force said it engaged Shahed-type drones alongside newer Russian UAV variants, requiring a mix of electronic warfare systems, mobile fire groups, and surface-to-air missiles to intercept them.
The human toll of the attacks continued to mount. Across multiple regions, emergency services worked through the night to rescue people trapped under rubble and extinguish fires caused by drone impacts. The injuring of children in Kharkiv drew particular condemnation from Ukrainian officials, who called on Western allies to accelerate air defense deliveries.
The attacks underscored the persistent threat to Ukrainian civilians even as the front lines in eastern Ukraine have seen relatively static movement. Russia’s strategy of combined drone and missile strikes aims to degrade Ukraine’s infrastructure and pressure its population, even as Ukrainian forces mount their own long-range campaigns against Russian energy and military targets deep behind the lines.
Sources: Kyiv Independent, Mezha, Ukrinform
Author: Ukraine Desk
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