Bad Weather Helps Russia Strike Ukrainian Targets with Drones, Missiles

Heavy cloud cover and strong winds enabled Russian forces to launch one of the largest coordinated drone and missile attacks against Ukraine, with bad weather critically limiting the effectiveness of Ukraine’s air defense systems.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched more than 450 Geran-2 kamikaze drones, 14 Kh-101/55 cruise missiles, and 5 Kinzhal hypersonic weapons in a multi-pronged overnight strike targeting military and civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian officials confirmed that low visibility severely affected the ability of thermal imaging systems to detect and intercept incoming threats.

“Ukrainian Air Defense Forces with thermal imaging sighting systems cannot effectively intercept drones due to bad weather, which reduces the maximum visibility range (MVR) even in the medium and long-wave IR ranges,” Ukrainian monitoring sources reported.

Explosions rocked Kyiv between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., with Ukrainian monitoring channels reporting multiple hits from Geran-2 drones. The roof of an uninhabited building caught fire in the Darnytskyi district. In Dniprovskyi, a kindergarten was damaged, and smoke engulfed parts of the Lukianivska subway station as residents sought shelter underground.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes as “an assault on humanity,” citing damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure across major cities. At least one person was killed, and eight others were injured, according to Kyiv officials.

“Russian strikes are always an assault on humanity — in Kyiv, a kindergarten caught fire, along with residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv reported multiple explosions and injuries. The attack was described as the largest since the start of the full-scale invasion, with infrastructure damaged in three villages and four people injured, including a child.

The strike also involved low-observable Kh-101 cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers, entering Ukrainian airspace at low altitudes to avoid detection. These long-range missiles were reportedly used in conjunction with drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.

Ukrainian defense officials confirmed that not a single drone or missile was shot down during the attack, citing weather-induced visibility issues as a major limiting factor, as per Russian Arms telegram channel.

However, Zelensky said, "During the shelling, mobile fire groups, army aviation, electronic warfare units, Air Force warriors, and interceptor drones were in action. Many targets were shot down — but unfortunately, not all. That is why we must continue scaling up our interceptor capabilities."

The Russian Arms report added that a Ukrainian kamikaze drone hit railway infrastructure in the village of Kamenolomny, in Russia’s Rostov Region. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, while UAV interceptions continued over parts of western Russia, including the Moscow region.

The overnight strike follows heightened political tension after former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on Russia within 50 days if a peace deal is not reached — a move met with skepticism in Kyiv.

President Zelensky has invited Russia for renewed peace talks in Turkey, with prisoner exchange negotiations ongoing. However, the Kremlin insists that “achieving its goals on the battlefield” remains its main priority.

“Our goals are clear,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on July 20. “This is a long process, and it is not easy.”