Mass drone strike overnight

Russia sent 219 drones at Ukraine overnight into April 18, in one of the biggest drone barrages of the year. (pravda.com.ua) Ukraine’s Air Force said it destroyed or jammed 190 drones by 8:30 a.m., but 28 strike drones still hit 17 locations and debris fell at nine more sites. (ukrinform.net) Regional officials said one civilian was killed in Mykolaivka in Donetsk region, and at least 26 other people were injured in attacks across northern and eastern Ukraine. (kyivindependent.com) In Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said drones damaged agricultural warehouses, depots and administrative buildings tied to port infrastructure. In Chernihiv region, an attack on an energy facility cut electricity to about 380,000 consumers. (chronicle.lu) The scale of the raid followed another huge Russian air attack on April 15, when Ukraine’s Air Force reported 324 drones and three ballistic missiles overnight. (usnews.com) Ukraine says these waves mix Shahed attack drones with decoys such as Gerbera and Italmas, forcing air defenses to track large numbers of targets at once. (english.nv.ua) Russia has kept up long-range strikes on ports, power sites and cities while the front line remains active in eastern Ukraine. Moscow says it targets military-linked infrastructure, while Ukrainian officials say the attacks are hitting civilian systems and housing. (trtworld.com) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly used the April attacks to press allies for faster deliveries of air-defense missiles and other military aid. After the larger April 16 strike, he said Russia should face more pressure rather than sanctions relief. (abcnews.com) For now, the April 18 barrage left Ukraine counting the drones it stopped, the sites it could not protect, and the power and port facilities still being repaired. (thehindu.com)