The situation 1486 – April 16, 2026

1. Russian forces conducted the sixth largest series of drone and missile strikes throughout the day on April 15 and overnight into April 16, using over 700 strike vehicles, killing at least 17 and injuring at least 100 civilians.
2. Russian forces also conducted a double-tap strike against first responders responding to Russian strikes in Kyiv City.
3. Russian forces leveraged a new strike tactic allowing Russia to threaten more areas of Ukraine for longer periods of time and disproportionately affect civilian areas — tactics first debuted during the largest Russian strikes series of the war thus far on March 23 to 24.
4. The Russian military command is likely pulling forces from the Russian strategic reserves in order to mitigate Russian forces’ continuous inability to reach the unrealistic operational objectives and deadlines.
5. Senior Russian officials allegedly continue to repress pro-war information space figures that the Kremlin cannot censor or co-opt as part of wider efforts to consolidate the information space under the Kremlin’s control.
6. Ukrainian forces advanced in the Slovyansk-Lyman tactical area.
7. Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian oil infrastructure. Russian forces launched 44 missiles and 636 long-range drones against Ukraine.

The full update of the Russian offensive 1486 is available on UNDERSTANDING WAR.