Ukraine Warns of Imminent Russian Drone and Missile Attack

Here's the situation in plain terms: Ukraine is bracing for what its own president is calling a major Russian attack — and the warning isn't coming from a random official. It's coming directly from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who sat down with CBS News' Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation and laid it out with unusual candor.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine has received intelligence indicating Russia will launch an assault involving drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. His message to civilians was stark: "Our people have to be very, very careful, cautious, and children — and they have to use bomb shelters," he said, warning the attack could come "today at night or tomorrow at night."

This warning didn't come out of nowhere. It follows one of the most devastating strikes of the entire war. Russian forces launched a large-scale combined missile and drone attack overnight on May 24, targeting mainly Kyiv and the surrounding region. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 90 missiles and 600 drones in an attack that lasted several hours — one of the largest in the past year. About 30 residential buildings in Kyiv alone were damaged or destroyed. By number of locations hit, it was the single largest attack on Kyiv of the entire full-scale war.

And the weapons Russia is using are getting more serious. Russia used its new medium-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, during the assault. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War said Moscow may have launched two such missiles, with one possibly malfunctioning and crashing in occupied Donetsk. The Oreshnik is significant — it's a nuclear-capable missile, which is why Zelenskyy flagged it specifically when warning of the next expected strike.

The ripple effects are spreading beyond Ukraine's borders, too. Russia launched attacks near the shared Romanian-Ukrainian border, and one of its drones entered the airspace of NATO-member Romania, striking an apartment building. A Russian drone also hit a Turkish-owned cargo ship in the Black Sea, wounding two crew members. Both Romania and Turkey are NATO members. That matters because NATO has a mutual defense clause — an attack on one is an attack on all — and Russia appears to be testing exactly where that line is.

Why is Putin doing this right now? Zelenskyy has a theory. "It's not the first time he's doing such pressure," Zelenskyy said. "I think it's political pressure — messages from Russia: don't help Ukraine." In other words, the strikes on NATO neighbors aren't accidents. They're warnings to European countries to back off their support.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is running low on the tools it needs to defend itself. Zelenskyy thanked U.S. and European partners for sharing intelligence, but said Ukraine desperately needs more defensive weapons. In a letter to Congress and President Trump, he pressed for more Patriot missile systems, citing the "especially cruel massive attack" that left two dead and 83 wounded.

Why does this matter to you? For Americans, it's a direct question of what the U.S. will do next — more weapons, less involvement, or something in between. For anyone in Europe, this is a live conflict that is already crossing borders. According to Zelenskyy, massive combined strikes involving drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles are now happening roughly twice a week or every 10 days. This isn't an occasional flare-up anymore. It's a sustained, escalating campaign — and Ukraine is asking its allies to decide how much they're willing to help stop it.