The campaign of massive airstrikes across Ukraine resumed with renewed intensity during the night of Wednesday, August 20, to Thursday, August 21, signaling the end of the relative "truce" that followed the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 574 Shahed attack drones and 40 missiles were fired, with a large portion aimed at western Ukraine. This constituted one of the largest bombardments since the beginning of the Russian invasion three and a half years ago. The official toll, which could change, reported one dead and 18 wounded.

"Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They targeted civilian infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, and our people," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the attack. In reality, the bombings had not stopped over the past two weeks, but the daily number of long-range missiles and drones had remained below 150, focused on regions and cities near the frontline (Sumy, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson), as well as on petrochemical infrastructure in the Odesa region.

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