Russia's 'Massive Attack' on Ukraine Cost Moscow $1.3 Billion: Report

A large-scale Russian missile and drone barrage on Ukraine on Monday that killed at least five people and ravaged the country's energy infrastructure is estimated to have cost Moscow $1.3 billion.

The nationwide assault, which involved more than 100 missiles and 100 drones, was described by Ukrainian officials as one of the largest launched by Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

"Like most Russian strikes before, this one was equally insidious, targeting critical civilian infrastructure," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the attack. "The energy sector has sustained significant damage, but in every area affected by power outages, restoration work is already in progress."

Russia "launched a massive combined attack" on Ukraine "using various types of air-, land- and sea-based missiles," Ukraine's Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk said Monday.

Oleschuk said Russia used 109 Shahed attack drones; 77 Kh-101 cruise missiles; three Kh-22 cruise missiles; 28 Kalibr submarine-launched cruise missiles; six Iskander-M ballistic missiles; three Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles; and 10 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles.

Forbes Ukraine and Ekonmichna Pravda, a project of Ukrainska Pravda, estimated that the attack would have cost Russia between $1.2 to $1.3 billion. Newsweek couldn't independently verify the figures and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, said in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine on Monday that Russia "likely lacks the defense-industrial capacity to sustain such massive strikes at a similar scale with regularity."

A Russian missile is reported to have struck a dam belonging to the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant on Monday, which brought fears of possible flooding.

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, said on X (formerly Twitter) that Russia targeted the dam, "with one missile striking it."

"If the dam breaks, millions of people downstream can die," Trofimov wrote, sharing footage that appears to show the aftermath of the strike.

The Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant, which is operated by the Ukrainian state hydropower company Ukrhydroenergo, is located on the Dnieper River in Ukraine's Kyiv oblast, to the north of the Ukrainian capital. It is key to the stabilization of water levels in the Kyiv Reservoir.

The ISW said geolocated footage published Monday shows the aftermath of a likely Russian missile strike against the dam "although Kyiv Oblast Head Ruslan Kravchenko noted that the strike on the dam did not cause significant damage to Kyiv HPP infrastructure."

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