Russia's powerful aerial campaign rages on in Ukrainepublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 26 May
Oleh Chernysh
BBC News Ukrainian, reporting from Kyiv
Image source, Getty ImagesIt starts with the sound of gunfire in the middle of the night.
These are Ukrainian air defence forces firing heavy machine guns into the black sky, trying to hit a Russian drone.
They miss, and seconds later, you hear a loud roar - as if a jet is crashing down on your building. Another second passes, and you hear an explosion outside your window, followed by a bright flash.
This scene has played out not only before my eyes but also for tens of thousands of people in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine over the past three nights.
Since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has carried out near nightly strikes on Ukraine. But those have intensified into powerful night-long aerial attacks in recent days. Since 23 May, it has deployed a record number of attack drones - particularly Shahed drones - as well as dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles.
For example, on the night of 26 May, Russia launched 9 missiles and 355 drones.
Ukraine claims it shot down nearly all of them. However, there are well-founded doubts about this.
First, the Russians have significantly upgraded the Shahed drones. Previously, they were slow, flew at low altitudes, and buzzed like an old moped. Now they are fast, roar like a jet, and can climb up to nearly 3km (1.85 miles) before striking their target.
All of this is intended to make it harder for Ukraine’s mobile fire teams to shoot them down with anti-aircraft guns. Moreover, there is information suggesting that Shaheds can now home in on targets without relying on satellite internet, which makes them harder to jam using electronic warfare systems.
Russia has also upgraded its ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat. He says the missiles now manoeuvre as they approach their targets and deploy decoys to evade air defence systems. As a result, even the latest US-made Patriot systems are finding it increasingly difficult to intercept them.
These developments come on top of Ukraine’s ongoing struggle with shortages of foreign air defence missiles, such as those for the SAMP/T and Patriot systems.
Now Kyiv must urgently work with its allies to find a way out of this difficult situation, as there are no signs that Moscow intends to stop its aerial terror campaign.
We're now ending our live coverage but you can head to our previous post for a recap of the day. You can also stay up to date with the latest developments in our news story.
