Russia launched more than 1,300 attack drones at Ukraine over the past week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 18 January, urging Ukraine’s partners to urgently increase deliveries of air defense systems and interceptor missiles.
From January 12 to 18, Russian forces also used about 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types, Zelenskyy said.
Overnight barrage hits six oblasts
Ukraine continues to face near-daily mass attacks, including an overnight barrage of more than 200 attack drones, the president said. Russian strikes hit Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa Oblasts.
Dozens of civilians were injured in the overnight attacks, including a child. At least two people were killed, according to the president.
He also said emergency services and repair crews are working around the clock to restore electricity, heating, and water supplies after Russian strikes in harsh winter conditions. The energy system remains under strain, he said, but efforts to stabilize it are ongoing.
Zelenskyy: World must respond decisively
“Exactly for this reason Ukraine still needs more protection, first and foremost more missiles for air defense systems,” Zelenskyy said.
“If Russia is deliberately dragging out the diplomatic process, the world’s response must be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor,” he added.
This week in Russian attacks on Ukraine
The past week brought some of the heaviest bombardments of Ukraine's energy infrastructure since the full-scale invasion began.
On 11 January, Russia launched over 150 drones targeting Ukraine's power grid during freezing temperatures, hitting infrastructure in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, and Rivne oblasts.
The following night, another 156-drone assault set a building ablaze in Kyiv, knocked out power in Odesa - where two people were injured - and damaged railway infrastructure in Zhytomyr Oblast.
By 17 January, much of Kyiv was running on emergency generators with streetlights being dimmed to 20% to conserve power. The city deployed 24 high-capacity generators and opened over 1,300 warming centers as it struggled through its worst energy crisis of the war.
On 15 January, a Russian drone struck a children's playground in central Lviv - landing inside the UNESCO World Heritage buffer zone - and damaged the early 20th-century Church of Saints Olha and Elizabeth.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attacks "fall exactly under the definition of Article II of the Genocide Convention," citing Russia's deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure during subzero temperatures.
The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner condemned the strikes, noting that 2025 was the deadliest year for Ukrainian civilians since 2022, with 2,514 killed - a 31% increase from the previous year.
