Largest Russian attack on Ukraine throughout the war: F-16 pilot perished, significant destruction in cities

On the night of June 29, Russia carried out the most massive air attack since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. In total, 537 air attack assets were used.

Russia massively attacked Ukraine with missiles and «Shahed» drones on the night of June 29. Destruction was reported in Lviv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. An F-16 pilot perished. The missile attack lasted until nearly 5 a.m.

TSN.ua has compiled everything currently known about the overnight shelling.

Pilot Maksym Ustymenko perished during the shelling

During the response to the Russian shelling, a Ukrainian pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, who was operating an F-16 fighter jet, perished.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, all available forces and assets, including modern combat aircraft, were deployed to repel the attack. F-16 fighters played a key role in destroying a large number of enemy drones. The pilots operated under extreme risk while carrying out combat missions, during which one of the pilots perished.

«Unfortunately, we have suffered another painful loss. This night, while repelling a massive enemy air attack, Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, a first-class pilot born in 1993, perished in an F-16,» the Air Force stated. Maksym Ustymenko managed to shoot down at least seven enemy air targets.

While destroying the last of them, his aircraft sustained critical damage and began losing altitude. According to the Air Force, the F-16 pilot tried until the last moment to save the aircraft and avoid civilian casualties. He managed to steer the fighter away from a populated area but did not have time to eject.

Cherkasy region

Head of the Regional Military Administration, Ihor Taburets, reported that the Russian attacks caused damage to civilian infrastructure and injured six people in Smila.

«Smila. Efforts to eliminate the aftermath of a large-scale missile and drone attack on the city are ongoing. All necessary services are working alongside residents. We have six injured, including one child,» Taburets wrote.

Preliminary reports indicate damage to three nine-story buildings. A local college of the National University of Food Technologies was also significantly damaged.

Poltava region

It is known that several high-speed targets, including Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles and ground-based systems, attacked Kremenchuk in the Poltava region. This city has repeatedly been a target of massive Russian strikes in recent weeks.

Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration, Volodymyr Kohut, reported that air defenses were active in the region. According to him, an enterprise in the Kremenchuk district was targeted, and a fire is being extinguished there.

Ivano-Frankivsk region

As a result of the overnight shelling on June 29, damage and one injury were reported in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Head of the Regional Military Administration, Svitlana Onyshchuk, reported that the enemy attack caused debris to fall on private households in the Rohatyn and Bilshivtsi communities. Damage was recorded in several settlements.

«In the village of Vasyuchyn, windows of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin (UGCC) were damaged, as well as part of a wooden bell tower,» the statement said.

In the village of Naraivka, a woman was injured and hospitalized. A residential building in the same village was also damaged.

All relevant services are currently working at the sites to eliminate the aftermath of the shelling.

Lviv region

Explosions were heard in the Lviv region during the night, which was attacked by combat drones and cruise missiles, according to Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi.

«The occupiers attacked critical infrastructure in our region,» Kozytskyi wrote.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi confirmed this information.

«We have completed the inspection of the city. The enemy tried to hit critical infrastructure. Despite the complexity of this night’s combined attack, no civilians or civilian buildings in Lviv were harmed,» Sadovyi noted after the air alert ended in the city.

Zaporizhzhia region

Zaporizhzhia region was also hit by Russian strikes.

A production facility at one of the enterprises was damaged. According to preliminary reports, no people were injured, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Fedorov reported.

Khmelnytskyi region

During the attack, nine "Shahed" drones and two Kh-101 missiles were shot down in the Khmelnytskyi region, while 21 more UAVs were lost from radar in the area.

Due to falling debris in the Shepetivka district, power lines were damaged, leaving about 150 households without electricity. Windows at a school were also shattered. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Kherson region

During the attack, eight people were injured. Air defense forces destroyed five "Shahed-131/136" drones over the region.

Mykolaiv

Around 1:28 a.m., Russia attacked the city with ballistic missiles, followed by several groups of "Shahed" drones starting at 2:56 a.m.

An infrastructure facility was hit. Warehouse buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported.

Air defense performance

Russia launched 537 air targets against Ukraine, of which air defenses neutralized 475, including drones and missiles.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported the following assets used by the Russian occupiers:

- Four Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles

- Seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles

- 41 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles

- Five Kalibr cruise missiles

- Three S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles

Despite the high percentage of intercepted targets, the Air Force reported hits in six settlements and debris from downed targets falling in eight locations. This night's Russian attack surpassed the previous record of 499 air attack assets recorded during one of the strikes in 2025.