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Russia says it has repelled one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks since the war began, after nearly 600 drones targeted multiple regions overnight, leaving at least four people dead and several others injured.
According to Russia’s defence ministry, air defence systems intercepted 556 drones overnight across 14 regions, including the Moscow area, Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. Authorities later reported that another 30 drones were neutralised after dawn, bringing the total scale of the assault close to 600 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Moscow region appeared to be among the hardest hit. Regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said a woman was killed after a drone struck a private home, while another person remained trapped beneath rubble. Two other men also lost their lives in the attacks.
“Since 3 o’clock in the morning, air defence forces have been repelling a large-scale UAV attack on the capital region,” Vorobyov wrote on Telegram, adding that four others sustained injuries and several infrastructure facilities were targeted.
Inside Moscow itself, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence systems intercepted more than 80 drones overnight. Twelve people were reportedly wounded, including construction workers near an oil and gas refinery.
“Minor damage has been recorded at the sites where debris fell,” Sobyanin said, noting that refinery operations continued despite the incident. “Three residential buildings were damaged,” he added.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local officials confirmed that one man was killed after a drone struck a lorry in the Shebekino district.
The latest barrage follows renewed threats from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who vowed more retaliatory strikes after a Russian attack on Kyiv earlier this week killed 24 people and injured around 50 others.
Ukraine’s air force also reported intercepting 279 Russian drones out of 287 launched overnight, as both countries continue exchanging heavy aerial assaults.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, with Kyiv rejecting Moscow’s demands over territory in the Donbas region. The United States has repeatedly called for negotiations, but momentum around talks has slowed in recent months.
Defending Kyiv’s strategy of targeting military and energy infrastructure inside Russia, Zelensky described the strikes as “entirely justified,” arguing they were designed to weaken Moscow’s ability to sustain the war effort.
Western allies of Ukraine have meanwhile accused Russia of undermining diplomatic attempts to secure a ceasefire as fighting continues to intensify on both sides.
