Fierce: 620 Ukrainian Drones Launched at Moscow
A total of 620 Ukrainian drones were launched towards Moscow, the Russian capital, throughout Monday night local time. Russian officials said several people were injured and several buildings were hit by the drone attack.
With talks stalled, Ukraine and Russia have significantly stepped up long-range strikes, pushing civilian casualties to their highest level since the first months of the war in 2022.
Russian air defences destroyed more than 180 drones over the Moscow region, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the MAX platform, as reported by AFP news agency on Tuesday.
The drone attack injured three people, including a 10-year-old girl, Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.
“Tonight and this morning, air defence forces successfully repelled a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow region,” he said.
A drone also struck a warehouse east of Moscow belonging to e-commerce giant Wildberries.
“The company’s logistics complex in the Moscow region suffered minor damage as a result of the attack. Debris hit the building’s wall,” the company said in a statement.
Ukraine has struck several Wildberries warehouses in recent weeks, claiming the company supplies components for Russian drones.
Meanwhile, Russia’s latest strike on a village in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine killed 10 people.
Russian forces “carried out a rocket attack on Pechenigy”, a village about 40 kilometres from the Russian border, Kharkiv region governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on social media.
Initial reports said 10 people were killed and 17 were injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that the attack took place at a busy crossroads, “a location with a post office and shops, surrounded by residential buildings”.
“We will certainly respond to this Russian attack. And it is equally important that our partners also complement… our response with their own actions to put pressure on Russia and support Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
The Kharkiv region — partly occupied by Russian forces — has been the hardest hit since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.