Aside from the inconvenience to travelers, the disruptions demonstrate how real the vulnerabilities within Russia’s internal air defense are—and create psychological and economic pressure on civilian infrastructure.

One of the hardest-hit areas was the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where 17 attack drones struck two residential districts, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires, rescue residents from burning homes, and restore gas, electricity and water services.

The attack used almost 500 drones and missiles, breaking a record set just days earlier, as Russia tries to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, which shot down most of the weapons.