Russian Drones Hit Zaporizhzhia After Ukraine's 1,000-Drone Weekend Barrage

Russian drones struck Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia late Sunday, wounding five people and damaging apartment blocks, a university and a shopping mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.

The bombardment came a day after Ukrainian forces launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia over the weekend, including hundreds directed at Moscow as voters cast ballots on the final day of a parliamentary election.

Zelenskyy said Russia also attacked nine other regions of Ukraine. "Russia is not backing down from its escalation and is sending many signals that it is ready to expand the war," he said, adding that Kyiv would press the case for a joint push toward peace at the UN General Assembly.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its overnight strikes targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, warehouses and ports, among other military-related sites. It also said its air defenses downed 244 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Black Sea. Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, reported that it shot down or suppressed 148 Russian drones in the overnight attack.

The exchanges underscore the absence of meaningful progress in diplomatic efforts to end the fighting, more than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion. World leaders are gathering this week in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, where Zelenskyy said he expects to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend.

European leaders, wary of Moscow's intentions on the continent, are seeking to increase pressure on Putin to withdraw from Ukraine, though the Russian leader has shown no sign of abandoning his objectives.

The cross-border spillover of drone activity has alarmed neighboring states. Moldova's Defense Ministry said part of its northern airspace was temporarily closed overnight after surveillance systems detected an "aerial object" entering shortly after midnight. Moldovan airspace has been violated repeatedly in recent weeks, with drone debris found on its territory. Electronic jamming has knocked drones off course, and it has not been clear whether they were Russian or Ukrainian, though officials have often blamed Moscow.

Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu has repeatedly condemned Russia over the war and said earlier this month that Moscow's "brutal war is reaching our border" after strikes near Moldova's frontier with Ukraine. Incursions into Romania's airspace have also risen sharply.