Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Russia since Moscow began its full-scale invasion more than four years ago, while a Russian missile strike on a village in northeastern Ukraine killed at least 10 people, officials said Tuesday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 791 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions, including annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. The attack came just two days after another large-scale Ukrainian drone assault.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 600 drones were detected heading toward the Moscow region, with 180 of them intercepted. No deaths or major damage were immediately reported in the capital region, although three people were injured, according to regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov.
Three others were wounded in the neighboring Ryazan region, where three private houses were damaged, Gov. Pavel Malkov said.
The overnight drone barrage also sparked a fire at a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in an industrial area. The company said the facility suffered only minor damage. Ukraine has previously targeted Wildberries, alleging that it supports supplies for the Russian military, a claim denied by Moscow.
The latest attacks reflect an escalating campaign of long-range strikes by both sides as neither has made significant gains along the roughly 1,250-kilometer frontline.
Ukraine has increasingly relied on domestically produced long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, seeking to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to peace talks.
“Putin continues to drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine’s realistic ceasefire proposals and ending the bloodshed,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike hit the village of Pechenihy in the Kharkiv region, killing at least 10 civilians and injuring 17, regional military administration chief Oleh Syniehubov said.
The attack destroyed or damaged 10 homes, a cafe, a post office, a store and at least seven vehicles, according to Syniehubov. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike as a “brutal attack” and vowed a response.
Separately, Russian attacks killed three people and injured three others in Ukraine’s Sumy region over the past 24 hours, according to Ukraine’s National Police.
Russian state television largely did not report the massive drone attack on Moscow and surrounding areas in its morning news bulletins. However, several state and pro-Kremlin media outlets carried reports about the assault on their websites.
Britain meanwhile reaffirmed its support for Ukraine after Moscow warned of unspecified consequences over Kyiv’s reported use of British-made drones in attacks on Russian territory.
“We are providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself,” British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, adding that Britain’s position remained unchanged.
The Sunday Times reported that two British companies had manufactured drones used by Ukraine to strike targets in Russia. The Russian Embassy in Britain said London’s actions would “inevitably carry consequences.”