Daijiworld Media Network - Moscow
Moscow, May 17: Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow in recent months overnight on Sunday, triggering air raid sirens, explosions and falling debris across parts of the Russian capital and nearby regions.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across the country within 24 hours. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defence systems shot down at least 81 drones approaching the capital overnight.
Authorities said the strikes damaged residential buildings and infrastructure in several areas. At least four people were reported killed, including three in the Moscow region. Another death was reported in Belgorod near the Ukrainian border.
Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said a woman died after drone debris hit a residential house in Khimki, north of Moscow. Two other men were killed in the village of Pogorelki in the Mytishchi district. Several others sustained injuries during the attack.
Some of the injured were reportedly located near Moscow’s oil refinery, though authorities maintained that the facility continued to function normally without major damage.
The drone offensive came days after Russia carried out one of its heaviest aerial bombardments on Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes were retaliation for continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said in a statement shared on X along with visuals showing smoke and emergency response operations.
He also claimed that Ukrainian forces had successfully targeted locations more than 500 kilometres inside Russian territory despite Moscow’s extensive air defence network.
Russia condemned the drone assault, accusing Ukraine of targeting civilians. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the strikes as a “mass terrorist attack,” according to Russian state media.
Since the beginning of the conflict, both Russia and Ukraine have denied deliberately targeting civilians. However, civilian neighbourhoods and infrastructure on both sides have repeatedly come under attack during the war.