Russian forces fired 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026, killing 11 and wounding more than 60 in the month's largest combined aerial assault.
Russian forces launched 619 drones and 47 ballistic and cruise missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026 — the largest combined aerial assault of the month — killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 60, Ukrainian officials said.
The heaviest casualties were in Dnipro, where eight people were killed and 49 wounded, including two children, in strikes on residential districts and critical infrastructure. Mayor Borys Filatov posted on social media that his deputy had narrowly escaped death when debris from an intercepted missile struck the street outside the city council building minutes after he had stepped inside. Two people were killed in Nizhyn, in the Chernihiv region; one person died in Zaporizhia when a civilian minibus took a direct hit; and at least one child was among those wounded in Kharkiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media: "Russia's tactics remain unchanged — attack drones, cruise missiles, and a significant number of ballistic missiles. Most targets are civilian infrastructure in cities."
ukraine war 2026 · russia missile attack · Dnipro bombing
Ukraine's Air Force reported that air-defense systems shot down or electronically suppressed 610 of the 619 incoming drones, an intercept rate of approximately 99%, and destroyed 38 of the 47 missiles. The 9 drones and 9 missiles that penetrated defenses caused the bulk of the casualties. Officials at Ukraine's State Emergency Service were still accounting for victims across three additional regions — Poltava, Sumy, and Mykolaiv — as of early morning on 26 April and said the overall toll could rise.
“Ukraine simultaneously struck Russian-held and Russian territory in the same overnight window.”
Ukraine simultaneously struck Russian-held and Russian territory in the same overnight window. Ukrainian drones hit a village in Russian-controlled Luhansk, killing three people, according to Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-installed head of the region. One woman was killed and two men wounded in Russia's Belgorod region, per Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. A Ukrainian drone separately struck a residential high-rise in Yekaterinburg — more than 1,000 miles from Ukraine's border — according to Denis Pasler, governor of the Sverdlovsk region, in a statement on Telegram. The Yekaterinburg strike marked the deepest confirmed Ukrainian drone penetration into Russian territory since the start of the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.
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→ukraine war 2026: Russia launched 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026.
→russia missile attack: Russia launched 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026.
→Dnipro bombing: Russia launched 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026.
→ukrainian air defense: Russia launched 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026.
Russia has launched the largest single-month drone campaign of the entire conflict this March, deploying an average of more than 800 drones per week, according to Ukraine's Air Force data. April has brought no reduction. Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk credited Ukraine's 99% intercept rate in an April 17 briefing to the delivery of six additional Patriot missile batteries from NATO allies in March 2026. The batteries require continuous resupply of interceptor missiles, and NATO partners are still struggling to produce interceptors at the volume Ukraine's air defenses require.
ukraine war 2026 · russia missile attack · Dnipro bombing
The strikes came as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was in Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, marking the EU's disbursement of the first tranche of a €90 billion ($106 billion) loan package the European Council approved on 24 April 2026. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had blocked the package for months, lost a landslide election to challenger Péter Magyar on 12 April, removing the veto. Kallas told reporters at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy: "This sends an unambiguous message to Moscow that Ukraine's survival is a European priority and not a matter for negotiation." Russia's Foreign Ministry called the loan "additional Western provocation" in a statement from spokesperson Maria Zakharova on 25 April.
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The territorial picture on the ground has shifted incrementally in Ukraine's favor in recent weeks. Russia suffered a net loss of 5 square miles of territory in the week of 14–21 April, according to Institute for the Study of War estimates, following a net loss of 13 square miles the previous week. Total Russian personnel losses since 24 February 2022 have reached approximately 1,324,690, including an estimated 1,230 killed or wounded in the 24 hours ending 26 April, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
The Islamabad round of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, running 26–27 April, carries indirect significance for Ukraine's energy position: an Iranian agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would lower global oil prices and reduce pressure on Ukrainian energy import costs. Ukraine's electricity generating capacity has fallen from 33.7 gigawatts at the start of the full-scale invasion to approximately 14 gigawatts as of January 2026, the result of two years of systematic Russian strikes on power infrastructure.
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#ukraine war 2026#russia missile attack#Dnipro bombing#ukrainian air defense#drone warfare#Zelenskyy#Borys Filatov#Shahed drone#EU Ukraine loan#Kaja Kallas#russia ukraine
How many drones did Russia fire at Ukraine on April 25-26?
Russia launched 619 drones and 47 missiles at eight Ukrainian regions overnight on 25–26 April 2026. Ukraine's Air Force intercepted approximately 99% of the drones and destroyed 38 of the 47 missiles. At least 11 people were killed and more than 60 wounded.
What city was hit hardest in the April 26 Russian attack?
Dnipro suffered the worst casualties — 8 people killed and 49 wounded including two children, according to Mayor Borys Filatov. Residential districts and critical infrastructure were targeted. Two people were also killed in Nizhyn (Chernihiv region) and one person was killed in Zaporizhia when a civilian minibus was struck directly.
Did Ukraine strike Russia in the same overnight period?
Yes. Ukrainian drones struck a village in Russian-controlled Luhansk, killing three. A drone also struck a residential high-rise in Yekaterinburg, Russia — more than 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border — the deepest confirmed strike into Russian territory since February 2022. One woman was killed and two men wounded in Russia's Belgorod region.
What is the EU's $106 billion loan to Ukraine?
The European Council approved a €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine on 24 April 2026, backed by EU guarantees. Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán had blocked the package for months before losing the 12 April election to Péter Magyar. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was in Kyiv on 26 April to mark the first tranche disbursement.
