Ukraine Launches Mass Drone Strike on Moscow Region, Killing Four
The Guardian reported Sunday that Ukraine launched a sweeping overnight drone assault on Russia, killing at least four people and striking targets across 14 regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the Ukraine drone strike campaign as fully warranted given Russia’s prior conduct.
A Massive Overnight Assault Across Russia
Close to 600 Ukrainian drones were deployed overnight, targeting regions stretching from the Moscow area to the Crimean peninsula and adjacent sea zones. Russian authorities said air defence units destroyed 556 drones during the night and neutralised a further 30 after daybreak.
Moscow’s regional governor, Andrei Vorobyov, confirmed three fatalities in his jurisdiction. A woman died when her home was struck in Khimki, a town just north of the capital. Two men were killed at a construction site in a village roughly 10 kilometres from Moscow after drone wreckage fell on workers there. Four additional people sustained injuries in the region.
In the capital itself, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 80 drones were intercepted overnight. Twelve city residents were wounded. Debris landed near a major oil and gas refinery, damaging nearby housing and injuring construction workers, though refinery operations were reported unaffected. Drone fragments also came down inside the perimeter of Sheremetyevo airport, Russia’s busiest, without causing damage to the facility.
A fourth death was recorded in Belgorod, a border region, where a man was killed in an attack on a lorry.
Why Kyiv Says the Strikes Were Warranted
Zelenskyy had warned publicly that strikes on Russian soil would follow Moscow’s three-day bombardment of Ukraine last week. That Russian offensive involved more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles launched across consecutive nights. A cruise missile destroyed a nine-storey apartment building in Kyiv on Thursday, killing 24 residents including three children and injuring roughly 50 others overall.
Zelenskyy argued Ukraine was justified in targeting Russian oil infrastructure and military production sites, as well as individuals he accused of direct responsibility for war crimes.
Also Read: Kyiv Apartment Block Hit as Russia Launches Massive Overnight Strike
A Fragile Post-Truce Landscape
The flurry of attacks follows the collapse of a brief ceasefire observed around the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Both Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of breaching that three-day pause. Diplomatic efforts to negotiate a lasting settlement remain stalled, with no substantive talks currently scheduled.
Ukraine’s air force separately said it intercepted 279 of 287 Russian drones launched in a parallel overnight assault, underscoring how both sides are sustaining near-nightly aerial exchanges.
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