Ukraine struck several targets deep inside Russia on Tuesday in what it described as the “most massive attack” of the war so far.

Ammunition depots and chemical plants were bombed in several areas, some hundreds of kilometers from the border, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Sources in Ukraine’s Ukrainian intelligence service told the BBC that the overnight attack was a “painful blow” to Russia’s ability to wage war.

Russia said it shot down the plane Atakum missiles supplied by the United States As well as British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and pledged to respond to the attack.

At least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily stopped traffic, while the strikes prompted schools in the country’s southwestern Saratov region to close their doors.

A Ukrainian security source told the BBC that the strikes in the Bryansk border region caused explosions at a refinery, ammunition warehouses and a chemical factory said to produce gunpowder and explosives.

But Kiev also struck deeper into the country, with the General Staff claiming to have hit targets up to 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) from the border.

In the western Saratov region, officials reported a “massive” drone attack.

Regional Governor Roman Busargin wrote in a telegram that two industrial facilities in the cities of Engels and Saratov were damaged.

Students were taught online Tuesday after local schools closed.

Last week, Kiev said it struck an oil storage facility in Engels, prompting a days-long effort to tackle the fire and Pusargin declaring a state of emergency.

Officials in the western Tula region also reported an attack during the night, with the region’s governor, Dmitry Milyaev Rossi, saying that air defenses shot down 16 drones.

He added that there were no casualties, although falling debris damaged some cars and buildings.

Elsewhere, local officials said that a gas storage site near Kazan was attacked by a drone in the southwestern region of Tatarstan, but no casualties were reported.

Russia also launched dozens of drones across Ukraine overnight, with multiple air raid warnings sounded in and around Kiev, Ukraine said.

According to its tally, all but one of the planes was shot down or lost.

Some were fake or decoy drones, used to try to overcome air defences.

As air raid alerts sounded over Kiev last night, a drone flew back and forth for some time, its movement tracked on various groups on the Telegram app.

One user joked that sending troops from the Air Force – which operates air defense systems – to the front lines as infantry was a “great idea”.

Today, Ukrainska Pravda newspaper quoted a source as saying that more than 5,000 soldiers will be transferred from the Air Force to the Ground Forces, following an order from General Oleksandr Sirsky.

The acting Air Force Commander responded by insisting that “objectively difficult to replace” specialists not be transferred, especially those trained in weapons and equipment supplied from abroad. This is supposed to include F16 aircraft and Patriot air defense systems.

The General Staff also commented, acknowledging that the situation on the front line was “not easy” with a lack of infantry “in many areas.”

“The decision to strengthen ground brigades on the front line at the expense of soldiers from other units and branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is a coercive step by the military leadership to strengthen our defense,” the statement said.

Ukraine says it was a fiery night.

Videos posted online appear to confirm at least some of these claims – although the Russian Defense Ministry says US and British-made missiles were shot down over Bryansk and the Black Sea.

The BBC asked the Ukrainian General Staff to comment on Russian claims that it shot down 14 of these Western-made missiles overnight.

His spokesman Bohdan Senek said his office “has no knowledge of the information you are asking about.”

Ukraine is trying with all its might to counter Russian military advances on the ground, a week before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The authorities in Kiev were subjected to pressure from the US administration to lower the conscription age and enable them to send more soldiers to the front lines.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, recently told ABC News that Ukraine must address its troop shortage, and that it needs to be “fully engaged for democracy” if it wants the United States to be “fully supportive” of Ukraine.

They were stark words, given the high price Ukraine has already paid for defending itself and NATO’s eastern flank, and they seemed to herald a change in Washington’s tone as Trump returns to the White House.

On Tuesday in Kiev, Zelensky again said there was no point in lowering the conscription age from 25 to 18 when Ukrainian forces already deployed were short of weapons.

“We have more than 100 brigades on the battlefield, and each of them needs daily replenishment and equipment,” Zelensky said.

Kiev often claims that its allies are slow to deliver promised weapons, including air defense systems and missiles.

Trump has said it is He prepares to meet Vladimir Putin upon his return to the White House – And make ending the war in Ukraine a priority.

He did not explain how he intended to do this.