In one of the most extensive aerial campaigns since the start of the conflict, Ukraine deployed hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday, resulting in at least six fatalities. According to Russia's Ministry of Defense, 822 Ukrainian drones were destroyed during the overnight operation. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that approximately 600 drones were detected heading toward the capital, with one-third of that total neutralized over the Moscow region.
The impact of the strikes was severe, with local authorities reporting multiple casualties. In the Moscow region, an 83-year-old man was killed when a drone struck a private residence, as confirmed by Gov. Andrey Vorobyov. The attack also ignited a blaze at a major warehouse owned by the retail giant Wildberries in Podolsk, where local media captured footage of black smoke rising from the facility. Meanwhile, in the southwestern Rostov region, Gov. Yury Slyusar reported that a separate swarm of over 150 drones targeted three towns, causing five deaths, damaging residential homes and a railway station, and triggering a forest fire.
Ukraine has increasingly utilized long-range missiles and drone swarms this year to target Russian military, energy, and industrial infrastructure. The ongoing campaign has frequently hit Wildberries depots, destroying billions of dollars in merchandise as the conflict approaches its four-and-a-half-year mark.
The violence continued on both sides of the border throughout Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih resulted in two deaths and 14 injuries, with an additional fatality recorded in the city of Sumy. Furthermore, a separate Russian attack on Kyiv caused multiple fires and left six people injured. Addressing the situation, Zelenskyy stated, "Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure." He added that air raid alerts persisted across numerous regions throughout the morning as Russia launched its own wave of drone attacks.
