The overnight barrage involved nearly 400 long-range drones, with 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles also fired. The attacks hit at least 10 locations across 11 regions and seven cities, marking the largest single-day aerial assault of the war so far. In Lviv, a rare daylight drone attack struck a UNESCO world heritage site, injuring at least 46 people.
A 12-year-old boy was among four victims in Kyiv, and three people were killed in Dnipro, where two universities were hit. A FAB-1500 glide bomb destroyed a children's sports facility in Sloviansk. The Institute for the Study of War described it as Russia's most brutal attack since the war began.
A separate barrage of nearly 1,000 drones over a 24-hour period killed at least six people. On the night of April 24, 2025, an attack on Kyiv using cruise and ballistic missiles and drones resulted in 13 deaths and over 90 injuries. President Zelenskyy confirmed that a North Korean Hwasong-11A missile struck the city.
In the Sviatoshynskyi District, residents were trapped under rubble, and the Central Wedding Palace was damaged. In Bucha Raion, residential buildings, stores, and a public transport stop were hit. In Kharkiv, 14 drones and 11 missiles injured six people, including a child, and damaged houses and an educational institution.
In Zhytomyr Oblast, a strike hit a State Emergency Service unit, injuring a rescuer. In Romny Raion, Sumy Oblast, four kamikaze drones struck an agricultural enterprise, injuring two people. A Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia late on Thursday killed five people and injured three, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.
On February 14, 2025, a Russian drone strike damaged the new safe confinement at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, compromising its function. 5 billion and funded by 45 countries, shields the sarcophagus covering reactor No. 4.
According to The Guardian, plant director general Serhii Tarakanov warned that if the sarcophagus collapses, over a hundred tonnes of nuclear fuel would be released into the air. Ukrainian officials and western experts say a full repair is required within four years to guarantee its 100-year lifespan, at a cost of up to €500 million. Peace talks have ground to a complete halt, with trilateral negotiations frozen since February 2026.
The escalation in the Middle East has diverted attention and military assets away from Ukraine, leaving it more vulnerable, according to Jaroslava Barbieri of Chatham House. Preliminary military analysis indicates the US has burned through munitions in the Middle East at a rate higher than what Ukraine has received over four years of full-scale war. Russia has been assisting Iran with satellite imagery and weapons parts.
Trump's team is running out of patience in Ukraine and wants a quick solution.
A possible visit by White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv may help reboot talks. According to The Guardian, an anonymous European official said Trump's team is running out of patience and wants a quick solution. Trump has described Ukraine as 'not our war' and questioned his support for NATO.
Two European officials expressed growing worry that Trump may pressure Kyiv to cede territory in the Donbas. Zelenskyy confirmed he received a US-backed peace plan and will negotiate with Trump on it. A draft seen by news agencies includes Ukraine giving up Luhansk, Donetsk, and Crimea, which would be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the US.
The plan also bars Ukraine from NATO, limits its armed forces to 600,000, provides security guarantees, and allows EU membership. Russia would be invited to rejoin the G8 and have sanctions lifted. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Ukrainian and European input is needed for any peace plan to work.
Russia has launched a new spring offensive, with Kyiv expecting renewed pressure on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk this month and into the summer, according to researcher Mykola Bielieskov. Analysts and officials say expectations of a Russian breakthrough remain low, as Moscow's forces struggle against Ukraine's drone defences. According to The Guardian, FPRI analyst Rob Lee said the battlefield situation is better for Ukraine now than in 2025.
In Kramatorsk, the train station closed last autumn because it was no longer safe for civilian transport. Many residents have left; of over 200,000 inhabitants, just over 50,000 remain. All schools are closed, some bombed, and education is online.
Russian forces attack daily with aerial bombs and drones, with the front less than 20 km away. , and there is a total alcohol ban. A 16-year-old named Jaroslav witnessed a Russian drone explode meters away but was unharmed.
At the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces dropped cluster bombs on the Kramatorsk train station platform, causing a massacre of civilians trying to flee. A Russian strike on Ukraine's Novodnistrovsk hydropower plant on March 7 caused oil pollution in the Dniester River, threatening Moldova's water supply, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said. 5 million population.
Moldova declared an environmental state of alert for 15 days, cutting water to several districts including Balti, where the military distributed drinking water from a 10-tonne tanker. Some schools closed and moved online. Romania dispatched teams and equipment to aid cleanup.
Russia will 'revise' its negotiating position due to the alleged strike.
Latest water samples show improvement, confirming the effectiveness of filters and barriers, according to the Ministry of Environment. Ukraine's Armed Forces struck more than 50 fuel and military-industrial infrastructure sites in Russia this autumn, according to Ukraine's General Staff and experts. Damage was confirmed at 13 locations from Ukrainian strikes on Russian strategic facilities, Schemes reported using satellite imagery from Planet Labs.
Analysts say the attacks have forced Russia to increase spending on facility protection and led to fuel shortages in some regions. New satellite imagery confirmed damage to Russia's Afipsky oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack on November 30, published by OSINT analyst Brady Africk. The refinery is a key facility with an annual capacity of over 6 million tons, producing fuel largely used by the Russian military.
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of conducting a long-range drone strike targeting President Putin's residence in Novgorod Oblast on December 29. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Russian forces downed the drones with no damage, and that Russia will 'revise' its negotiating position due to the alleged strike. A phone call between Trump and Putin took place the same day, with Putin informing Trump of the claimed strike and that Russia will 'reconsider' its position on peace agreements, according to Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov.
The US has not published a readout of the call. ISW has not observed any footage or local reporting to corroborate Lavrov's claim, and noted inconsistencies with the Russian Defence Ministry's drone downing figures. Russian opposition outlet Sota reported that Valdai residents did not hear air defenses operating overnight.
Seven more children previously taken to Russia have been returned to their families in Ukraine, US first lady Melania Trump said in a December 4 statement. She has made the issue of abducted Ukrainian children a central focus of her humanitarian agenda, and in August sent a letter to Putin delivered by Donald Trump during a meeting in Alaska. In Kherson, 40,500 residents are without heating after repeated Russian strikes took the city's central heating plant out of action, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on December 4.
In Komyshuvakha, a grocery store remains open despite daily Russian drone attacks; the deputy commander of the 65th battalion warned of danger and they had to flee. The road through the village is covered with netting originally for birds, now intended to keep off drones, but it is full of holes. The author describes the area as the 'Kill Zone' and emphasizes the war's clear moral stakes.
The Kremlin published a list of potential targets in the UK, Germany, and other European countries, claiming they are making drones for Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev threatened that the list is a list of potential targets for Russian armed forces. Kyiv's changing face reflects the war's impact.
The author's first flat was near Volodymyrskyy market, which is now neater and quieter, with fewer peasant farmers and more commercial food distribution. Homemade sour cream is no longer sold, only one pickle seller remains, and the meat counter is less focused on pork fat. The old apartment stairway is cleaner and brighter, no longer smells of old vegetables, and lightbulbs are not stolen.
A Russian attack two nights earlier had damaged power connections, causing much of the city centre to be without running water for a day. Photographer Iva had previously seen a Russian drone operator's POV centered on her car via a Ukrainian drone warning system.