Ukraine-Russia War: 2026-04-18

Ukrainian drones hit two industrial cities on the Volga River and an oil products export port on the Baltic Sea near Saint Petersburg. In Leningrad Oblast, governor Alexander Drozdenko said a fire at the port of Vysotsk was extinguished. The port exports oil derivatives. In Samara Oblast, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed attacks on industrial targets in the cities of Syzran and Novokuybyshevsk, about 1,800 km southeast of Vysotsk. Russian air defense said it shot down 258 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russian regions and over the Azov and Black Seas.

Russian forces launched 219 drones against Ukraine overnight from April 17 to 18, launched from Shatalovo, Bryansk, Kursk, Orel, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, as well as from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea. More than 150 were Shahed-type loitering munitions. Ukrainian air defense shot down 190 drones, but 28 hit 17 locations across the country. Debris fell on 9 additional locations. A major power infrastructure facility in Nizhyn district, Chernihiv region, was damaged, cutting electricity to 380,000 consumers in Chernihiv, Pryluky, Nizhyn and Slavutych, according to energy company Chernihivoblenergo.

Ukrainian military intelligence deputy chief Vadym Skibitsky stated that Russia is planning a new ground offensive in southeastern Ukraine, aiming to capture the entirety of Donbas by September. Moscow is reportedly deploying strategic reserves to add 20,000 additional soldiers to its existing 680,000-strong force. Skibitsky also noted that intensified missile and drone strikes are part of a broader strategy to destroy infrastructure ahead of the spring-summer offensive campaign.