One of the largest Ukrainian drone offensives since the start of the war killed at least four people in Russia, wounded others near Moscow and targeted infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone assaults of the war overnight into Sunday, striking areas around Moscow and other regions across Russia in an operation Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a justified response to continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Russian authorities said at least four people were killed and more than a dozen wounded as hundreds of drones targeted the country in what officials described as one of the most extensive aerial attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
According to Russian officials, a woman died after a drone struck her residence in Khimki, a city northwest of Moscow. Two additional fatalities were reported in the village of Pogorelki, north of the Russian capital, according to Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyev.
Another man was killed in Russia’s Belgorod region after a drone reportedly struck a truck near the Ukrainian border.
Russian officials also reported damage to unspecified infrastructure facilities and several apartment buildings during the overnight assault.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at least 12 people were injured, many near the entrance to the city’s oil refinery. Sobyanin stated the refinery’s “technology” systems were not damaged during the attack.
Russia’s Sheremetyevo Airport, the country’s largest airport, reported that drone debris fell onto airport grounds but did not damage facilities or interrupt flight operations.
Russian air defense systems intercepted 81 drones approaching Moscow overnight, according to Russian state media citing Sobyanin. Russia’s Defense Ministry later stated that 556 drones had been destroyed across the country overnight and claimed that more than 1,000 drones had either been shot down or electronically jammed over a 24-hour period.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones traveled more than 500 kilometers from Ukrainian territory and claimed the operation demonstrated Ukraine’s growing ability to penetrate Russian air defense networks around Moscow.
“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said. “This time, Ukrainian long-distance sanctions have reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war.”
The strikes followed renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine after the expiration of a temporary ceasefire connected to Russia’s May 9 Victory Day commemorations marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Nigel Gould Davies, a senior fellow specializing in Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the operation appeared to be retaliation for recent Russian bombardments of Kyiv.
“It brings home the fact Ukraine has the capacity to strike at very significant scale at or around the Russian capital,” Gould Davies told the Associated Press.
He said the attacks were likely intended to force ordinary Russians to confront the realities of the war more directly.
“The fact that Ukraine is reminding the Moscow population that it is vulnerable to these attacks is likely to intensify the mix of concerns now,” Gould Davies said.
He also pointed to Russia’s recent battlefield setbacks, mounting economic pressures and expanding government crackdowns on internet access and information controls in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Despite the escalation, Gould Davies said he did not believe the attacks would immediately push the Kremlin toward meaningful concessions in potential peace negotiations.
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to target Russian oil facilities and industrial infrastructure far from the battlefield, attempting to reduce oil export revenues that help finance Moscow’s military operations.
The attacks have also produced visible environmental effects, including large fires and smoke plumes observed near Black Sea regions.
Meanwhile, Russia continued launching large-scale drone strikes against Ukraine overnight.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia deployed 287 drones during the latest wave of attacks. Ukrainian officials reported that 279 were intercepted or electronically disrupted.
Eight people were wounded in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian emergency services.
Three people were injured in the regional capital of Dnipro, four in Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih and one in the Synelkove district.
Ukrainian authorities said residential buildings sustained damage in all three areas during the strikes.
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