Russia has reshaped its air war on Ukraine, tilting toward ballistic missiles and daytime strikes, Ukraine's Air Force said. Recovered missile debris suggests Moscow is struggling to accumulate all the weaponry its attacks require, even as its daily drone attacks continue unchanged.

Ballistic missiles crowd out cruise missiles

Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russian forces now favor ballistic missiles over cruise missiles, NV reported. Over the past week, Russia launched more than 50 ballistic missiles, he said. Ihnat added that Moscow cannot build up all the weaponry its attacks demand.

"Debris found with markings three weeks, a month, or two months old — that is, missiles that just came off the assembly line — shows that they can't accumulate and scale everything up there, and that they do have a problem with this," Ihnat said.

Ihnat noted that Ukrainian long-range strikes are adding to Russia's difficulties. Ukraine's Defense Forces now hit not only oil refineries but also factories with unique technologies that make missile parts, he said.

Explore further

Russia launches record ballistic missile barrage on Kyiv, firing over 40 missiles in under an hour

Strikes move into daylight

"The enemy seeks to achieve the effect of surprise, so that our Defense Forces have less time to prepare. When everyone gets used to ballistics flying at night — from 2:00 to 4:00 — by striking in the morning, the enemy tries to achieve certain goals precisely through surprise," Ihnat said.

The daily drone barrage grinds on

Russia's overall Shahed-drone tactic has not changed, Ihnat said. Its forces keep hitting Ukraine with Shahed drones — the Iranian-designed attack drones Moscow launches in swarms — every day and every night.

Overnight on 27 July, Russia sent 147 strike drones at Ukraine, including Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas types plus Parodiya decoys. Air-raid alerts sounded across several oblasts. A Russian strike damaged homes and a shop in Dnipro, and an attack on Zaporizhzhia killed one person.

Ukraine says it carried out a series of overnight long-range strikes against Russian military infrastructure, air defense systems, logistics hubs, and naval assets across multiple regions of Russia and occupied Ukraine as part of its campaign to degrade Moscow's war capabilities.

Ukraine has been expanding long- and medium-range strikes across Russia and occupied territories in recent months in an effort to reduce the capacity of the Russian military and the economy that sustains Russia’s ability to continue their invasion of Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck facilities supporting Russia's war effort in Kirov, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, and the Caspian Sea.

Among the targets, he identified a defense-related enterprise in Kirov, about 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine's border, the Tyumen oil refinery, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg, and a fuel depot in Rostov-on-Don.

"We have very good results from our long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea," Zelenskyy said, adding that the operation targeted vessels used to transport military cargo from Iran as well as a Russian warship.

Open-source analysts said the strike in Kirov targeted the Avitek defense plant. Exilenova+ said the attack was carried out with a Ukraine-made Flamingo missile.

According to their assessment, satellite imagery indicates the munition penetrated the roof of a production building before detonating inside, triggering a large fire.

SBU claims strikes on S-400 systems and Caspian vessels

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said its long-range drones struck several military targets in Russia's Rostov Oblast.

According to the agency, the attack hit a 92N6E "Grave Stone" radar and its antenna tower, components of Russia's S-400 air defense system. The SBU also claimed to have destroyed a Tor-M2 air defense system, a Pole-21 electronic warfare complex, and two warehouses storing FPV drones.

The agency further said its drones struck the Filanovsky offshore oil production platform in the Caspian Sea, two cargo vessels under international sanctions that it says were transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia, and a Project 12418 Molniya-class missile boat.

The SBU described the operation as part of Ukraine's effort to disrupt Russian military logistics and respond to Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports.

General Staff reports additional strikes

Separately, Ukraine's General Staff reported strikes on several additional military targets on 24-25 July.

According to the military, Ukrainian forces hit an early-warning radar near Olenivka in occupied Crimea and an ammunition depot near Novosemenivka in occupied Kherson Oblast.

The General Staff also said Ukrainian forces struck Russian drone command posts near Bilovody in Sumy Oblast, Ledneva in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, Kamianske, Novoivanivka and Myrne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Komar in Donetsk Oblast.

It also reported a strike on a Russian command and observation post near Kazachya Lisitsa in Russia's Belgorod Oblast.

Reports point to another Wildberries warehouse strike

Videos circulating online and cited by OSINT observers appeared to show a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, roughly 1,750 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. 

Wildberries is Russia's largest online retailer and logistics operator. Ukrainian officials and analysts say its warehouses and distribution network are increasingly used to store and transport military equipment, drones, and other supplies for Russia's armed forces, making them legitimate military targets. Facilities linked to the company have been struck repeatedly in recent days as Ukraine expands its campaign against Russian logistics infrastructure.

Russian authorities acknowledged drone attacks in the region but did not confirm the reported strike on the warehouse. Sverdlovsk Oblast Governor Denis Pasler said air defenses repelled a drone attack on the Yekaterinburg area, with falling debris igniting a 300-square-meter fire in the city's Chkalovsky district. He said no economic or infrastructure facilities were damaged and no casualties were reported.

The reported strikes are the latest in Ukraine's expanding long-range campaign targeting Russia's military infrastructure, defense industry, fuel facilities, logistics networks, and naval assets far from the front line.