WASHINGTON (April 16, 2026) – On Wednesday night, Russia fired 19 ballistic missiles, 25 cruise missiles, and 659 attack drones, making this their biggest attack on Ukraine this year. The airstrikes resulted in fatalities in major cities like Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. The bombing came four days after a brief Easter ceasefire while US-led peace negotiations to end Russia’s war were stalled.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s president, Zelenskyy toured European capitals–including Germany, Norway, and Italy–to seek defence deals with partners. Currently, Ukraine’s top priority is securing air-defence systems to overpower Russia’s ballistic missiles.
For more analysis on these developments, please consider Bob Orttung, professor of Political Science and International Affairs, director of the Elliott School's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Orttung has spent extensive time conducting field research in post-Soviet Eurasia and is currently working on identity politics and political system change, with a special focus now on public opinion dynamics in Russia and Ukraine. His work has won two prizes from the American Political Science Association and includes the books The Zelenskyy Effect and Patronal Politics.
To schedule an interview, please contact Nadia Payne at nadia [dot] payne
gwu [dot] edu (nadia[dot]payne[at]gwu[dot]edu) or GW media at gwmediagwu [dot] edu (gwmedia[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-