Russian Glide Bomb Strike Kills One in Southern Ukrainian City

KYIV-Russian aircraft dropped eight glide bombs on residential areas of the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia over a 90-minute period, killing one person and injuring 31 others, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on Monday, as Kyiv renewed calls for additional Western air defense systems.

According to Fedorov, the strikes late on Sunday killed a 71-year-old woman and wounded 31 people, including a 16-year-old girl. The bombardment damaged 22 apartment buildings across four districts of the city.

Russia has relied extensively on glide bombs during its more than four-year invasion of Ukraine. The weapons, adapted from Soviet-era bombs with guidance systems, can carry payloads of up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds), creating extensive blast damage. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said they lack effective means of intercepting the weapons before impact.

The attack came amid continued Russian aerial assaults across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 181 long-range strike drones overnight from Sunday into Monday. It said air defenses intercepted or electronically jammed 163 of them, while 14 drones struck targets at 13 separate locations.

The latest strikes prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to renew his appeal for additional U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which Ukraine says are essential for defending against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision to provide the necessary packages,” Zelensky said on social media. “The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need. Anti-ballistic missiles must protect people — not sit in stockpiles.”

Patriot interceptors remain in limited supply following the Iran war, according to the source material.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that discussions over allowing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot systems under license were continuing and that he had not reached a final decision, appearing to step back from an earlier commitment to approve such an arrangement.

Zelensky has also proposed that Elon Musk permit Ukraine to use the Starlink satellite network to help target ballistic missile launch sites inside Russia. Officials have not publicly indicated whether that proposal is under consideration.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces struck four bulk carriers carrying cargo intended for the Ukrainian armed forces, including three vessels in the Black Sea and one in the port of Mykolaiv. The ministry did not provide additional details, and the claim could not be independently verified.

Russian-installed authorities in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow, said three people were killed and two others injured in an overnight Ukrainian attack. Sergei Aksyonov, the region’s Russian-appointed head, did not provide further information.

Ukraine also continued its long-range drone campaign against targets inside Russia. Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, said one of its warehouses in the Vladimir region east of Moscow caught fire after a drone strike. Regional Governor Alexander Avdeyev said three people were injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 131 Ukrainian drones overnight across several Russian regions, as well as over the Black Sea and Crimea.