Russia launches barrage of strikes on Ukraine

Russia launched an aerial barrage on Ukraine, part of a recent wave of attacks that came as a growing number of analysts said Moscow was losing the war. The 700-plus drones and missiles came after it fired more than 1,500 over two days last month. The Kremlin is under pressure: Territorial gains are slowing or even reversing, and the EU is readying new sanctions, all of which is triggering what one Carnegie analyst called “the most serious crisis” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more than quarter-century in power. “What has long seemed so implausible has become more likely,” a defense expert wrote in Foreign Affairs. “Kyiv and its partners could convince Moscow that a ceasefire is its best option.”