Kharkiv was attacked by Russian missiles.

Earlier that day, Russia said Kyiv had carried out one of the largest drone strikes since the full-scale war began, targeting power plants and an oil refinery, while Russian forces continued to gain ground toward a key town in eastern Ukraine.

The Kharkiv offensive prompted President Zelensky to call on allies to allow Kyiv to launch Western-supplied missiles deeper into enemy territory and reduce the military threat posed by Russia. The fighting occurred at a critical juncture in the two-and-a-half-year conflict. Russia was conducting an offensive in eastern Ukraine while trying to repel Ukrainian forces that had breached Russia's western border in a surprise attack on August 6.

Kyiv is also pressuring the U.S. and other allies to allow the use of more powerful Western-supplied weapons to inflict greater damage inside Russia and deter Moscow's ability to attack Ukraine. Zelensky appealed to these countries on his Telegram channel in response to the attack on Kharkiv, which Ukrainian officials said involved at least 10 missiles.

"This doesn't require extraordinary forces, but rather sufficient courage from the leaders – the courage to give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself," President Zelensky emphasized.

Earlier, Russian officials said that air defense units had destroyed 158 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, and debris had caused fires at the Moskva oil refinery and the Konakovo power plant in the neighboring Tver region.

Kyiv has yet to comment on the series of drone attacks. Russia rarely reveals the full extent of the damage caused by Ukrainian airstrikes.

President Zelensky stated that in the past week alone, Russia had used 160 missiles, 780 guided bombs, and 400 drones to attack cities and military forces across Ukraine. He called on Western countries to make "a decision on long-range attacks on missile launch sites from Russia, to destroy Russian military logistics, and to jointly shoot down missiles and drones."

Kyiv's allies are wary of how Russian President Putin will react if their weapons are used against targets deep within Russian territory.

Russian news agency TASS quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that Moscow will change its nuclear doctrine in response to Western actions related to the conflict. He did not specify what the changes would include.

Russia's current nuclear doctrine, outlined in a 2020 decree by President Putin, states that Moscow may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear or conventional attack by an enemy that threatens the state's existence.

Some hardliners among Russian military analysts have urged Putin to lower the threshold for nuclear weapons use in order to "bring Russia's enemies in the West back to their senses."