At least three people have been confirmed dead after Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone assaults on Russia in more than a year, targeting Moscow and surrounding areas with hundreds of drones overnight.
According to Russian state media, authorities said more than 500 drones were involved in the coordinated attack, which came days after Russia carried out deadly strikes on Kyiv that reportedly killed at least 25 people and injured several others.
Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin said a woman died after a drone struck a private residence in Khimki, a town located northwest of the Russian capital. He added that another individual was trapped beneath the rubble.
In Mytishchi, northeast of Moscow, two men reportedly lost their lives after drone debris crashed onto a building under construction. Sobyanin also disclosed that 12 people sustained injuries across the capital, including workers at an oil refinery.
India’s embassy in Russia confirmed that one Indian citizen was killed during the attacks in the Moscow region, while three others were injured.
Ukraine’s Security Service said its forces targeted several strategic facilities in the Moscow region, including oil pumping stations, an oil refinery, and the Angstrom plant, which produces semiconductors used by Russia’s military-industrial sector.
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air defence systems intercepted 556 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Moscow authorities said more than 120 drones aimed at the capital and nearby areas were shot down.
Drone debris also reportedly sparked a fire in a residential building in the village of Subbotino, while four residents were injured after several apartment blocks were damaged in the western town of Istra.
Officials at Sheremetyevo International Airport said fragments from drones landed within the airport grounds, although no casualties or major damage were recorded.
Russian media shared images showing burning homes and damaged residential buildings, though exact locations were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia launched 287 drones overnight toward Ukrainian territory. Authorities said at least nine people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region and Zaporizhzhia district, adding that most of the drones were intercepted.
The latest escalation comes shortly after Russia held a scaled-down version of its annual Victory Day military parade amid increasing Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory, particularly against energy infrastructure.
As the attacks unfolded, Ukraine’s commander of the Unmanned System Forces posted a message on Telegram directed at residents of Patriarchy, an upscale district in Moscow.
“The one-way ticket to a peaceful life in Patriarchy and the surrounding areas has been canceled,” the message read.
