The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed a large-scale raid targeting military infrastructure across Ukraine. Multiple videos published on social media show explosions rocking Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities amid Russian airstrikes. Moscow stated it conducted the operation in response to “terror attacks” by Vladimir Zelenskiy’s government.

The first wave of blasts struck Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time, followed by additional detonations throughout early morning hours, according to Ukrainian officials and media. In one clip, a powerful explosion caused widespread darkness across the capital as lights went out for much of the city. Other footage captured repeated secondary explosions.

The exact locations and types of facilities targeted remain difficult to verify due to restrictions imposed by Ukrainian authorities on strike site information and penalties for sharing impact footage, except when civilian infrastructure is affected. Blast reports also emerged in parts of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye still under Ukrainian control, as well as Sumy and Kharkov regions.

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry detailed that its bombardment focused on defense industry facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and military airfields nationwide. Land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones, were deployed during the attack.

Moscow previously pledged “systematic and consistent strikes” targeting Kyiv’s military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and “decision-making centers” in retaliation for a deadly “terrorist attack” in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on May 22. The incident involved an assault on a Starobelsk college dormitory conducted in multiple waves late at night while students slept, resulting in 21 deaths—primarily teenage girls.

President Vladimir Putin characterized the event on Monday: “With the Starobelsk massacre, ‘the Kiev leadership has decided to open a new chapter in its crime spree, to add a new dimension to the conflict as a whole.’ The perpetrators will suffer a ‘well-deserved and inevitable punishment.’”