Ukraine launched one of its largest aerial assaults of the war on Sunday, sending hundreds of drones deep into Russian territory and killing at least six people, as Moscow responded with fresh strikes across Ukraine.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it destroyed 822 drones overnight, with roughly 600 heading toward the capital region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 201 of those aimed at the capital were shot down.
Five people were killed in the southwestern Rostov region, where three towns came under attack, according to regional Governor Yury Slyusar. An 83-year-old man died after a drone struck a private home in the Moscow region.
The barrage ignited a fire at a distribution warehouse near the capital, one of several industrial sites targeted in the wave. The scale of the operation marked an escalation in Kyiv’s strategy of striking logistics and supply infrastructure far behind the front lines.
The pattern echoes earlier operations, including recent strikes that set Russian industrial and logistics facilities ablaze, as Ukraine seeks to disrupt the networks sustaining Russia’s war effort.
Russia, meanwhile, carried out new attacks across Ukraine, striking a steel plant and other targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, while Russian officials characterised their strikes as aimed at military-linked facilities, including a warehouse.
The exchange underscores how both sides have increasingly relied on long-range drone campaigns to inflict damage away from the entrenched ground lines. Ukraine has focused on refineries, warehouses and transport hubs, while Russia has continued large-scale barrages against Ukrainian cities and energy sites.
The overnight assaults follow a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks that have killed civilians in both countries, deepening the humanitarian toll of a conflict now well into its fourth year.
Casualty figures and damage assessments from both governments could not be independently verified, and each side routinely disputes the other’s accounting of losses.
With diplomatic efforts stalled, the intensifying tit-for-tat aerial campaigns signal little prospect of de-escalation. Both militaries appear set to expand drone production and long-range strike capacity in the months ahead.