Moscow endured a significant aerial assault overnight, according to the city’s mayor. Over 60 drones targeted the Russian capital as Ukraine ramps up its long-range weapons strategy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on platform X that a satellite communications center, used for reconnaissance and coordinating Russian forces in Ukraine, was hit.
Mayor Sergey Sobyanin described the event as a “large-scale attack.” He revealed on Telegram that air defenses destroyed 61 drones approaching Moscow. The origin of the drones remains unspecified. Emergency services responded to crash sites without reporting any casualties.
This assault on Moscow was part of a broader drone attack across Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry reported air defenses downed 419 Ukrainian drones over 18 regions, including the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia.
Andrey Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, stated on Telegram that a six-month-old child died and three individuals were injured. A drone crash ignited a house fire in Yegoryevsk, around 100 miles southeast of Moscow. In Dubna, about 69 miles north of Moscow, an administrative building suffered damage from fallen drone debris.
Social media clips from Reuters showed bystanders in Yegoryevsk, located about 60 miles southeast of Moscow, observing the aftermath of the drone attack.
The drone attacks temporarily affected operations at Moscow’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports, as reported by Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya.
Zelenskyy confirmed his military targeted the Dubna satellite communications center in the Moscow area. This facility, approximately 310 miles from the Ukrainian border, was used for reconnaissance and coordinating Russian military activities.
Further actions are planned, Zelenskyy noted, to target similar enemy facilities. This escalation follows less than two weeks after Ukraine struck a major oil refinery in Moscow’s vicinity, marking one of Kyiv’s largest aerial assaults on the capital since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Kyiv labeled these strikes as retaliation for Russian attacks on a historical monastery complex in Kyiv earlier this month.
Images from social media depicts smoke and fire from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery following a Russian missile attack during the same period.
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s envoy regarding what it terms as “the crimes of the Kyiv regime,” claimed on Telegram that Ukrainian attacks caused more than 300 civilian casualties in one week. This figure reportedly includes both fatalities and injuries.
Ukraine is increasingly targeting locations well within Russian territory, showcasing an expansion of its long-range capabilities. The campaign focuses heavily on Russian oil and energy infrastructure, aiming to weaken the Russian military machine and strain fuel supplies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted to fuel shortages during the 23rd Congress of the United Russia party in Moscow. In a televised conversation, Putin reported that Ukraine proposed a mutual cessation of long-range strikes as a peace measure. However, Russia declined the proposal and pledged to persist with its battlefield efforts.