Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow overnight on Sunday as Russia carried out a wave of missile strikes across Ukraine, killing at least three people and injuring more than a dozen, according to officials from both sides.
The fighting also spilled beyond the immediate war zone, with three people reported killed in Russia’s Rostov region and a Spanish NATO fighter jet shooting down a drone after it entered Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border.
Massive Drone Assault on Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Russian capital faced a sustained drone attack throughout the night, with air defenses intercepting more than 600 drones approaching Moscow. Around 200 of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the Moscow region, according to statements posted on the state-backed MAX platform.
Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as one of the largest drone attacks in recent memory and said six people were wounded.
In the city of Podolsk, a drone struck a facility at the Koledino Industrial Park, triggering a fire at a Wildberries warehouse, Vorobyov said.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted warehouses and other facilities associated with the Wildberries online retail company, describing such attacks as retaliation for Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
Since mid-July, Ukraine has reportedly targeted around 20 Wildberries warehouses and other related buildings.
Russian Missile Strikes Hit Several Ukrainian Cities
Russian missile attacks killed two people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region and another person in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
More than 20 people were reportedly injured in attacks affecting Kyiv, Brovary, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih defense council, said Russian forces struck two industrial facilities in the city.
In Kyiv, authorities activated an air raid warning shortly before 2 a.m. local time, followed by a series of explosions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital was under a ballistic missile attack and urged residents to remain in shelters.
The strikes triggered fires in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, according to local authorities.
The central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk in the Poltava region was also targeted, although officials initially provided no details about possible casualties or damage.
War Expands Beyond Ukraine’s Borders
Romania’s Defense Ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet, operating as part of NATO’s air policing mission, shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
The drone’s debris fell in an unpopulated area of the Galati region close to the Ukrainian border. Romanian authorities said it was not immediately clear where the drone had originated.
The incident marked another example of the war’s growing spillover into neighboring NATO countries as Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange increasingly frequent drone attacks.
NATO also reported that its fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace on Friday. Latvia said it was the second time within a week that a drone had been brought down after entering its airspace.
Romania has faced repeated incidents involving drones crossing into its territory. In July, Bucharest expelled an employee of the Russian Embassy, describing the move as a firm response to repeated airspace violations.
Romanian forces had shot down three drones on three consecutive days before the expulsion.
Intensifying Long-Range Attacks
Russia has continued to launch almost daily missile and drone attacks across Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
At the same time, Ukraine has increasingly conducted long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory, including attacks on oil refineries, military-related facilities and warehouses.
Zelensky has said the purpose of these operations is to weaken Russia’s war economy and reduce Moscow’s ability to sustain its military campaign.
