Russian ballistic attacks intensify as Kyiv claims Dnipropetrovsk advance

What the report says

Ukraine says it has completed a counteroffensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region, recapturing 745 square kilometres of territory this year and liberating 26 settlements, according to remarks from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported by Al Jazeera. The operation, which Ukraine says pushed Russian forces back across parts of the regional borders with Donetsk and Zaporizhia, was presented as evidence that Kyiv can still regain ground despite the wider war.

The reported battlefield gains come as Russia intensifies missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. Al Jazeera said Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia were hit on multiple dates in early August, with at least nine people killed across those attacks. Ukrainian officials said the country’s air defenses are under strain, particularly against ballistic and hypersonic missiles, because interceptor stocks for Patriot systems have been depleted.

The article also cites Ukrainian military and intelligence officials saying Russia is increasing production of ballistic and hypersonic missiles, while also expanding the use of harder-to-intercept drones. Separately, Ukraine claims its own drone campaign has damaged Russian refining capacity and struck military and port infrastructure deep inside Russia, including facilities tied to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

The broader significance, as framed by Al Jazeera, is that the war is now defined by a mix of localized Ukrainian advances on the ground and a growing Russian advantage in long-range strike capacity, with both sides trying to shape the next phase of the conflict.