Russia fired its biggest-ever drone barrage on Ukraine on Monday, Kyiv said, escalating a deadly air campaign that analysts say offers little military value and instead appears intended to erode civilians’ morale. While large-scale Russian drone attacks have pummeled Ukraine’s cities for three consecutive nights, Ukrainian drones have targeted infrastructure and military sites deep into Russia’s territory. Russia fired “355 Shahed-type drones” including decoys, as well as nine cruise missiles, between Sunday night and early Monday, in the largest drone attack of the invasion so far, Ukraine’s Air Force said. An attack on Sunday killed 13 civilians, including three children from the same family, in the central Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr.

Following the strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more pressure on Moscow. “Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night,” Zelensky said in his daily address, adding that some 900 drones and missiles were launched at Ukraine in the last three days. Military analyst Alexei Alshansky said that although the scale and frequency of Russia’s drone attacks have increased recently, their strategic utility remains questionable.

“There’s no military objective behind ramping up drone strikes on Ukrainian cities – these kinds of attacks offer no strategic advantage to the Russian army,” Alshansky told The Moscow Times. “Those drones aren’t targeting military facilities and are completely indiscriminate.” “This is about inflicting fear and psychological pressure on civilians – to push the Ukrainian side into........

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