In the early hours before September 16, 2025, the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia was rocked by a barrage of Russian rockets, leaving a trail of destruction and a community once again picking up the pieces. According to Ukrainian officials and reports from AP News, the overnight assault wounded at least 13 people—including two children—though other official counts placed the number as high as 20, with four children among the injured. The attack, which set more than 20 apartment buildings ablaze and left families scrambling for safety, was just the latest in a relentless campaign that has battered Ukraine’s civilian areas for more than three and a half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a series of urgent messages on Telegram and during public addresses, called on European leaders to take bold, coordinated action. "Now is the time to implement the joint protection of our European skies with a multilayered air defense system. All the technologies for this are available," Zelenskyy declared, as quoted by AP News. "We need investments and desire, we need strong actions and decisions from all our partners." His plea, fueled by the latest devastation in Zaporizhzhia and the unyielding tempo of Russian attacks, underscored the growing sense of vulnerability felt not just in Ukraine but across the continent.
For residents of Zaporizhzhia, the attack felt like a cruel replay. Ivan Fedorov, the regional head, told national television, “We hadn’t yet recovered from enemy strikes on Aug. 30. We are currently repairing those buildings, those windows, but now the enemy has added more work for our municipal workers.” The city’s recovery efforts from previous bombardments were still underway when the new rockets rained down, igniting fires and shattering windows that had only just been replaced. The sense of exhaustion among local officials and residents is palpable, as each wave of violence undoes weeks of hard-won progress.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the night brought little respite. Russian forces also struck a civilian logistics center in the Kyiv region, President Zelenskyy reported. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a Russian drone strike hit the National Pharmaceutical University in the city center, wounding four people and causing further alarm among civilians. Video posted by Zelenskyy on social media captured the aftermath, showing smoke rising above the city’s skyline—a grim testament to the indiscriminate nature of the attacks.
The scale of Russia’s aerial campaign is staggering. In just the two weeks leading up to September 16, Zelenskyy stated that Russian forces had launched more than 3,500 drones, over 2,500 powerful glide bombs, and nearly 200 missiles at targets across Ukraine. These numbers, confirmed by multiple official sources and reported by AP News, highlight the sustained pressure on Ukrainian defenses. Glide bombs, in particular, pose a daunting challenge. Dropped from jets at high altitude and far behind the front lines, they are notoriously inaccurate but devastatingly destructive, leaving massive craters in their wake. Ukraine, by its own admission, currently lacks effective countermeasures against these weapons.
The threat is not confined to Ukraine’s borders. In recent weeks, Russian drones have landed on Polish soil, prompting NATO to reinforce its air defenses across Europe as tensions with Moscow continue to mount. The incident served as a stark reminder that the conflict’s repercussions can—and do—spill over into neighboring countries, raising the stakes for the entire continent. NATO’s response, while swift, has only added to the chorus of voices urging a more comprehensive, multilayered approach to European air defense—one that would shield not just Ukraine but all of Europe from the growing menace of aerial attacks.
Despite months of U.S.-led peace efforts, a settlement to end the war appears as distant as ever. U.S. President Donald Trump’s ultimatums and deadlines for Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage with proposals to halt the fighting have come and gone without visible progress or consequences. As reported by AP News, Trump, speaking to reporters before a state visit to the United Kingdom, remarked, “Zelenskyy is going to have to make a deal” to end the war, though he offered no specifics. The American president has repeatedly called for Europe to stop buying oil from Russia, insisting that such economic measures are key to ending the conflict. He has also advocated for steep tariffs on Chinese purchases of Russian petroleum, suggesting that coordinated economic pressure could force Moscow’s hand.
For his part, Zelenskyy has been clear about what he believes is needed to bring Russia to the negotiating table. “The only reason Russia can allow all this is that it doesn’t feel any pain,” he wrote on social media. “Until Russia experiences truly severe losses — above all economic ones — it will avoid genuine diplomacy and an end to the war.” His call for tougher sanctions echoes the frustration and urgency felt by many in Ukraine, who see economic pressure as the most effective lever remaining to compel Russia to change course.
Yet, Ukraine is not simply waiting for outside help. In response to the relentless attacks, the country has developed its own long-range drones, which have struck deep inside Russian territory in recent weeks. These Ukrainian drones have targeted and damaged vital installations, including oil refineries, depots, and terminals—assets essential to Russia’s war effort. Notably, on the night of September 16, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that its armed forces struck an oil refinery in the Saratov region of western Russia, causing explosions and a fire at the facility. This strike, confirmed by the General Staff on Facebook and reported by AP News, is part of a broader campaign aimed at disrupting Russia’s logistical and economic capacity to sustain its military operations.
The impact of these strikes is already being felt. Despite remaining the world’s second-largest oil exporter, Russia has faced gasoline shortages in recent weeks—a development attributed to a seasonal rise in demand combined with the sustained pressure of Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure. These shortages, while not crippling, represent a rare vulnerability for Moscow and a potential lever for Western policymakers seeking to tighten the economic screws further.
As the war grinds on, the human toll continues to mount, and the prospects for peace remain elusive. The latest attacks in Zaporizhzhia and across Ukraine serve as a stark reminder that, for millions, the conflict is not just a distant headline but a daily reality. With calls for European unity growing louder and Ukraine’s own capabilities evolving in response to the threat, the coming months may prove decisive—for the battlefield, for diplomacy, and for the future of European security.