Russia reports three killed in large Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow region
Russia says a large Ukrainian drone attack overnight killed three people in the Moscow region and injured 12 in the capital, in one of the biggest such barrages reported since the start of the war. Russian officials said drones were intercepted across multiple regions, with the Moscow area among the worst affected. The attack also led to damage at a city oil refinery and reports of drone wreckage at Sheremetyevo Airport.
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Regional governor Andrei Vorobiev said air defences had been repelling a large-scale UAV attack on the capital region since around 03:00 local time. He said a woman was killed in a house in Khimki, north of Moscow, and that a man and a woman were killed in Pogorelki. Vorobiev also said four people were injured in the region and that several houses were damaged.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 people were injured when drones hit an entrance to an oil refinery in the city, and that three nearby houses were damaged. Russian military officials said 556 drones were intercepted overnight and another 30 were neutralised after dawn. They said the interceptions took place across 14 Russian regions, as well as over the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas.
In Moscow, authorities said debris from downed drones caused minor damage in several places, while Sheremetyevo Airport said wreckage had fallen on its territory but that no one was injured. The airport said passenger and aircraft services continued normally. The attack matters because it shows the scale of Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against targets deep inside Russia, including the capital region and critical infrastructure.
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Moscow is around 400km from the Ukrainian border, and while the wider region has faced repeated drone attacks, the city itself is less frequently targeted. Strikes on energy facilities also carry economic and operational significance, even when officials say production has not been disrupted. The overnight assault came after a major Russian attack on Kyiv earlier in the week that killed 24 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country will retaliate for Russian strikes and has described long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities and other assets as part of that response. He has also said this week's operations had already destroyed high-value Russian military equipment, including aircraft, a helicopter and a cargo ship. Russian officials said the drone wave was spread across a wide area, indicating a coordinated effort to overwhelm air defences.
The defence ministry's figures suggest a much larger attack than the more limited drone raids often reported in the conflict. The inclusion of the Moscow region, Belgorod and other areas also points to the continuing pressure on Russia's rear areas as the war enters another phase of long-range strikes. Ukraine has not publicly commented on the latest attack in the Moscow region.
That leaves open questions about the exact scale of the damage, the number of drones that reached their targets, and whether the refinery strike affected operations beyond what officials have said so far. It is also unclear whether the reported casualties in the Moscow region and the capital will rise as authorities continue to assess the aftermath. What happens next will depend on whether there are further retaliatory strikes from either side and whether the latest attack changes the pattern of drone warfare around Moscow.
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Officials in Russia are likely to continue checking damaged sites, including the refinery area and Sheremetyevo Airport, while regional authorities assess the impact on homes and infrastructure. The broader conflict remains at a standstill diplomatically, with both sides continuing to rely on long-range attacks to apply pressure.
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