The number that matters is 1,567. Kyiv says 1,567 drones and 56 missiles struck Ukraine over two days this week, a volume that signals a deliberate shift to prolonged daytime raids that stretch civilians and air defenses. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the assault rare and sustained, as Kyiv and analysts reported multi-day strike periods now running into daylight hours. Analysts compiling open-source data say the campaign aims to apply psychological pressure and economic disruption; monthly drone averages this year have run roughly 143 to 219. The Kremlin says it will press the campaign until it addresses what it calls the root causes of the war in Ukraine.

The number that matters is 1,567, not the rhetoric. Ukrainian officials reported that figure for drones and 56 for missiles striking between Wednesday and Thursday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the assault as rare and sustained. That combination of volume and daytime timing changes the battlefield dynamic. It forces civilians to shelter for long stretches and it stresses Ukraine's layered air defenses.

What changed: volume and daylight

Analysts tracking open-source data say this week fits a clear pattern. Igor Anokhin, a senior analyst who compiles open-source data for the Institute for Science and International Security, told Business Insider that this assault is the fifth sustained strike period Kremlin forces have launched this year. Anokhin said Russia has moved from mostly nocturnal Shahed attacks to extended windows that last long into the day, and that the daily average this year has run roughly 143 to 219 drones depending on the month.

Anokhin set out the campaign's aim in stark terms. "The main goal is psychological pressure and economic terror," he said. That intent is visible in both target selection and tempo. Russia commonly targets energy infrastructure during these waves, causing wide power outages and long-term hardship for civilians. The shift to daytime operations multiplies those effects because repairs and emergency responses are disrupted while residents wait in shelters.

Ukrainian forces have adapted a mixed defensive posture. Kyiv is deploying mobile gun crews, interceptor drones, electronic warfare systems, and high-end missile interceptors. Still, the sheer volume and duration of recent raids test those systems. Business Insider reporters who sheltered in Kyiv during the attack described cities on near-constant alert, with residents waiting for hours in bomb shelters as explosions rattled neighborhoods. Those on-the-ground accounts line up with Kyiv's tallied numbers and with the pattern analysts describe.

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Pressure beyond the battlefield

The recent waves sit on top of earlier record attacks. Ukrainian sources and international reporting recorded a high-intensity assault on Kyiv on July 9, 2025, when Russia launched 539 drones and missiles in a single attack, killing one person and injuring 26 as air raid sirens wailed for more than eight hours. Analysts treat that spike as part of a recurring operational model Moscow has refined during the invasion.

The July 9 episode became a reference point for subsequent raids and for how Ukraine allocates scarce interceptors and repair crews.

Western intelligence and security officials say Moscow is combining kinetic pressure with other instruments. In her first public speech as head of the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli warned in December 2025 that Russia operates in a "grey zone" between peace and war and accused Moscow of using tactics from arson and sabotage to drone harassment. Metreweli said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "dragging out negotiations" and that the Kremlin intends to "subjugate Ukraine." Those comments frame the campaign as deliberate and protracted rather than episodic.

There are signs the burdens are reaching into Russian-controlled territory. Crimean photographer Viktor Pinchuk described his experience at a November 2025 cultural event in Simferopol, saying institutions were prohibited from widely promoting large-scale events because of a "complex, almost militarized situation," producing smaller, quieter gatherings. That anecdote, alongside continued domestic restrictions and sustained military mobilization, is one of the few concrete indicators in open-source reporting of how the conflict is affecting public life on territory under Moscow's control.

Operationally, Moscow's decision to extend strike windows into daytime is a clear signal. It forces Ukraine to commit interceptors for longer periods and to accept disruption to civilian life as a cost of defense.

Kyiv's layered response buys time and saves lives, but it also consumes munitions and manpower at a steady clip. The next strategic question is whether Kyiv and its partners can keep replenishing those stocks while civilian infrastructure endures repeated shocks.

Politically, the strikes reinforce the Kremlin's declared aim. The Kremlin has repeatedly said it will press the campaign until it addresses what it calls the "root causes of the war in Ukraine," and recent high-volume drone waves underline that Moscow is maintaining pressure rather than seeking an immediate halt. That posture tracks with Western assessments that see the Russian approach as a persistent campaign across multiple domains.

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Anokhin's line: 'The main goal is psychological pressure and economic terror.' The key question is replenishing interceptors.

This article was created with AI assistance.