Massive Ukrainian Drone Strikes Hit Moscow Region

Ukraine launched a large overnight drone attack on Russia’s Moscow region, killing two people and damaging homes, apartments and vehicles, according to Russian officials. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 650 drones were heading toward the city and that most were shot down. Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that 185 drones were destroyed or neutralised over the wider region. He said one person was killed in Radumlya and another in Barbybino; seven people were injured, while 47 houses, four apartments and three cars were damaged. A Russian war blogger claimed that an oil storage tank at the Volodarskaya oil storage and distribution facility had been hit, but officials had not confirmed the report. The facility is a major regional hub for diesel, petrol and jet fuel, is linked to Moscow’s main oil refinery, and supplies the capital’s three large airports. Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil infrastructure in an effort to reduce revenues used to finance the war, which Russia began in February 2022. Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Moscow said the attack ended a relative lull in major Ukrainian strikes on the city since September 20. Separately, Russian-installed authorities said a Ukrainian drone struck a minibus in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, killing three people, including the driver, and injuring three passengers. Russia has recently intensified missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, including strikes on bridges across the Dnipro River. The article says both countries have increased attacks in the fifth year of the war, while diplomatic efforts have failed to end the fighting and the United Nations has warned of a significant rise in civilian deaths.

Ukraine said Russian air defenses intercepted nearly 900 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russia, occupied Crimea and the Sea of Azov. Moscow officials reported hundreds of drones heading toward the Moscow region, including 650 between Monday evening and Tuesday morning and another 68 during daylight hours. Unconfirmed media reports said a major fuel depot in the region was burning; the attack reportedly killed two people. Ukraine has used domestically developed long-range drones and missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia during the war. The attacks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is preparing a “massive” aerial strike. He said Ukraine had received updated intelligence and was implementing countermeasures. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv estimates Russia has 600 ballistic missiles in reserve and can produce up to 140 monthly. Ukraine’s ability to defend against them is constrained by a shortage of ammunition for its U.S.-made Patriot systems. Ukraine has also targeted Russian oil infrastructure. Kyiv claims its strikes have disabled 51% of Russia’s refining capacity, a figure the article says could not be independently verified. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks had cost Russia about 1% of GDP, and Moscow has banned diesel exports, contributing to higher global prices. U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to stop attacking Russian refineries. Russia continued strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian areas. It attacked a bridge in Zaporizhzhia, a residential building and a warehouse there, and targets in the Odesa region, including port infrastructure and a cargo vessel. A separate Russian drone strike on a Marshall Islands-flagged ship carrying rapeseed oil killed one person and wounded seven. The article also reports Moscow’s objection to a possible permanent U.S. military base and nuclear deployments in Lithuania, which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described as escalatory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia may be planning hybrid attacks on European countries supporting Ukraine.

The article reports that a large overnight Ukrainian drone attack targeted the Moscow region, with Russian authorities saying that 650 drones were involved and at least two people were killed. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said most of the drones were destroyed by air defences before reaching their intended targets. He reported that 105 drones were intercepted as they approached the capital, while Russian state news agency Tass described the assault as the second-largest drone attack on the capital region in the past two years. The reported fatalities were a 71-year-old man found beneath the rubble of a house and a 20-year-old man found in a nearby village, according to Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov. The article also says a warehouse caught fire, citing local authorities through Tass. The account attributes the casualty and interception figures to Russian officials and media; it does not provide an independent assessment of the attack or detail Ukrainian confirmation. The report places the strike in the context of both sides stepping up attacks, as indicated by its headline, though the brief article focuses on the Russian account of this particular incident. It gives no additional information about damage beyond the deaths and warehouse fire, the intended targets, or any response from Ukraine. Its central focus is the scale of the drone assault, the Russian air-defence response, and the reported casualties and property damage.