Kremlin escalation with record air attacks batter Ukraine, spark health crisis fears

The Washington Post reported the information.

Russia has dramatically escalated its war against Ukraine since the start of 2025, launching more drones in a single night than during the entire months of 2024. 

In just June and July alone, Russian forces deployed nearly 12,000 drones and hundreds of missiles, killing scores of civilians and leaving many more injured.

"A Washington Post analysis of data from the Ukrainian armed forces found Russia lobbed a record-breaking 11,739 drones at Ukraine in June and July. Trailed by 433 cruise and ballistic missiles, the summertime blitz killed 518 civilians, maimed more than 1,500 and inflicted untold terror on millions more," the article says.

The Kremlin denies it targets civilians, but the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine found that civilian deaths increased by 50 percent for the first five months of 2025 compared with the previous year. 

Experts warn that beyond the physical destruction, the relentless overnight barrages are inflicting long-term damage on Ukrainians’ health. The deafening sounds of air raid sirens, drone explosions, and defensive gunfire far exceed World Health Organization noise safety limits. Cardiologists say this constant exposure increases stress hormones, disrupts sleep, damages hearing, and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease.

On September 7, Russia carried out one of its largest air assaults yet, striking the Cabinet of Ministers building in Kyiv for the first time. Western officials describe the intensified attacks as part of a broader Kremlin strategy to exhaust Ukraine’s air defenses and shake civilian morale.

European leaders have condemned the escalation, with German politician Friedrich Merz calling Vladimir Putin “the most serious war criminal of our time.” Analysts warn the West’s hesitant response, particularly amid U.S. political uncertainty, risks emboldening Moscow further as Ukraine braces for continued blackouts and relentless night raids.

• On the evening of September 7, 2025, Russian strike drones once again violated Ukrainian airspace. Russia attacked a thermal power facility in the Kyiv region.