Russia launched one of its heaviest air assaults of the year on Ukraine overnight into 21 August, firing 574 Shahed-type drones and 40 missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Kyiv said the barrage totalled 614 ‘air-attack munitions’, the highest daily figure since mid-July, and that air-defence units downed 546 drones and 31 missiles. The strikes focused on Ukraine’s western regions, which are generally far from the front line. In Mukachevo, 25 km from the Hungarian border, a cruise missile hit a U.S.–owned electronics factory, injuring at least 15 people and sparking a large fire, local officials said. Elsewhere, regional authorities in Lviv reported one fatality and several injuries after debris struck residential areas. Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the barrage a “massive combined air strike” on civilian and energy infrastructure and said it underscored the need for stronger air defences and tougher international sanctions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy added that targeting an ordinary consumer-goods plant highlighted Moscow’s disregard for peace efforts currently being pursued by Washington and European partners.