Russia was running down Ukraine’s air defences with a “weekend of hell” with one of the most intense drone and missile barrages since the war began three years ago that struck Kyiv and other major cities.

Ukrainians were forced to take shelter in the capital’s metro on the night of May 25, as missiles rained down with such frequency that Kyiv Is usually effective air defences were starting to be overwhelmed, allowing many missiles to penetrate the protection and find targets amongst residential buildings in particular.

Russia has improved its ballistic missiles to make them harder to intercept by Patriots, Ukraine’s Air Force says. "It complicates (the interception), but doesn’t make the interception impossible," Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said, The Kyiv Independent reported. "I think our partners are already working to improve the system's capabilities.”

In the technological battle between Ukraine and Russia, the balance has constantly swung backwards and forwards, especially in the drone war between them and the electronic warfare (EW) measures and countermeasures.

Russia says it shot down 110 Ukraine drones over its territory on May 24, but fired a reported 298 drones and 69 missiles at targets in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Air Force – one of the heaviest attacks of the war. The Air Force reported that 45 cruise missiles were shot down by air defence and 266 drones were neutralized, while 22 locations recorded a direct strike, The Kyiv Independent reports.

The onslaught started on Saturday night on May 23 that injured at least 15 people in Kyiv and went on for two days. Residents of the Ukrainian capital flocked into the underground stations of the metro to seek refuge as air raid sirens wailed above. That marked a change as for much of the last three years, Russia has avoided attacking Kyiv and the population has become inured to what missile strikes have targeted the capital thanks to air defence system; the military has deployed the most extensive air defence cover over Kyiv that relies heavily on US-supplied Patriot missiles.

The attack was clearly designed to run down the population’s support for the war and coincides with Kyiv Day, the city holiday typically celebrated on the last Sunday in May. However, experts also speculate that the onslaught may be similar to the huge missile barrage at the start of 2024 that was designed to run Ukraine’s air defence capabilities down as the US ran out of money for Ukraine, and was followed by a second massive barrage in March when the US-supplied ammunition ran out completely, leaving the skies open. Russia then began to systematically destroy Ukraine’s non-nuclear power infrastructure, which has left the economy on its back. GDP growth has dropped from 5.5% in 2023 to 2.3% last year and the economy grew by only 0.8% in the first quarter of this year.

With the Trump administration support of Ukraine waning, Russia may be using the same tactics again. By targeting Kyiv, Ukraine is rapidly using up its stock of Patriot missiles that are already in short supply, according to local reports, that are concentrated in the capital. The US is still supplying Ukraine with arms and ammunition, but the supplies are the leftover legacy commitments made by the Biden administration. So far, US President Donald Trump has signed off on only $50mn in new military aid and experts estimate that Ukraine could start to run short of the US-made missiles by this summer.

With ceasefire talks stalled, Russia is increasing the military pressure and has mounted major offensives along the line of contact. A new assault in Donbas is attempting to surround the crucial logistical hub of Pokrovsk and there were reports that the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR) is massing some 50,000 soldiers in the Kursk region on the Ukrainian border, troops that can now be redeployed after Russia re-took that region following the Kursk incursion by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) last summer.

The fresh barrage comes as Russia and Ukraine are in the midst of a 1,000 for 1,000 POW swap, agreed in the recent Istanbul meeting on May 16, the first direct contact between Ukraine and Russia since the failed 2022 Istanbul peace deal in the first month of the war.

The assault came on the final of three-days of POW swaps with another 303 Ukrainian soldiers returning home to tearful reunions with loved ones. Many of the returning prisoners are border guards who were captured in the early days of the war in Donbas, most of them lower ranking officers.

Cities on fire

The Air Force issued an attack warning late on May 24 saying a wave of drones was headed towards multiple regions. It then also issued a ballistic missile warning shortly before midnight, The Kyiv Independent reports. Later in the same night, an imminent attack warning was issued for all Ukrainian regions, including the country's far-western oblasts well away from the front line on the other side of the country.

The Russian missile strike on Ukraine overnight killed 12, injured over 50, according to local reports. In Kyiv four people were killed and 31 hurt. Khmelnytskyi: four dead and five 5 hurt. Zhytomyr: three children dead (8, 12, and 17 years old) and 12 hurt. Mykolaiv: a Russian drone targeted a five-story apartment building, killing one and injuring five. All of Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Ternopil, Dnipro were damaged by missile strikes and rescue operations continue as first responders hunt for the injured and dead in the rubble of buildings.

The attacks have caused outrage at a time when the Kremlin is nominally proposing new conditions that would allow for a 30-day ceasefire agreement to go into effect. The Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack and said they were evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention to end the war or agree to a ceasefire. He called on Western allies to respond by tightening sanctions and increasing the pressure on Russia.

"When the entire world calls for an end to the killing, Putin orders even more strikes, attacks, and murders of children. This once again emphasizes the imperative of a full, unconditional, and durable ceasefire for any meaningful peace effort," Sybiha wrote on X, as cited by The Kyiv Independent. "The world must pressure Russia to accept it and put an end to the killings immediately."

Poland scrambled fighter jets and activated air defenses, as it has previously done to secure its airspace during large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The 1,000 for a 1,000 POW swap was due to come to an end on May 25, with another circa 300 prisoner exchange as part of the earlier Istanbul agreement.

"The exchange continued today,” Zelenskiy said on social media on May 24. “A further 307 of our soldiers have been brought back home. Privates and sergeants. Most of them are from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. Of all these people, 273 were taken prisoner in Donetsk Oblast, a significant number back in 2022, as well as from the territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts. In total, 697 Ukrainians have been brought back home in two days of swaps.”