Russia says it intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones overnight as damage reported in Tula region

Russia said it intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest cross-border attacks reported since the full-scale war began more than four years ago. The Defence Ministry said the drones were downed across 13 regions, including areas around Moscow, as well as over Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. The scale of the barrage points to a continued Ukrainian effort to pressure Russian air defences and strike targets deep inside Russian territory.

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Regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said the Tula region, about 180km south of Moscow, was hit in a "massive" attack. He said a house was damaged and a woman was injured, and later said an industrial facility in Novomoskovsk, about 200km south of Moscow, was also damaged. Russian media named the site as the Azot plant, which has been described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as important to Russia's explosives production, although that claim was not independently verified in the supplied material.

The reported strikes add to pressure on Russian energy and industrial infrastructure at a time when fuel shortages have already been reported in the wider context of the war. They also highlight the strain on Russian air defences, which have had to respond to repeated drone incursions across a broad geographic area. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 47 drones were shot down as they approached the capital, and said there were no casualties or damage in the city.

The latest attack fits a broader pattern of Ukrainian aerial operations that have increasingly targeted Russian territory and Russian-held Crimea. The supplied material says the campaign has been aimed in part at energy infrastructure, with the goal of disrupting revenue and logistics linked to Moscow's war effort. It also comes as Russian forces continue to face battlefield pressure in eastern Ukraine, while having to defend against attacks at home.

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The incident is significant because it shows the scale and reach of the drone war have widened further, with reported interceptions over land and sea across multiple regions. It also raises questions about the resilience of Russian industrial sites and transport links if such attacks continue at this pace. The Tula region damage, including the reported injury and industrial impact, gives the overnight figures a concrete local consequence beyond the headline interception count.

What remains unclear is the full extent of damage outside Tula region and whether all reported impacts can be independently confirmed. It is also not clear how many drones were launched in total, what their intended targets were, or whether any reached sensitive infrastructure beyond the sites already reported. Further official updates may clarify the damage assessment and whether the overnight figures change as local checks continue.

Russia's Defence Ministry said it intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones overnight across 12 regions, as well as over annexed Crimea and the Azov and Black Seas. The ministry said the scale of the attack made it one of the largest drone assaults on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion began more than four years ago. The reported strikes spread across a wide area, including regions near Moscow and areas farther south and west.

In the Tula region south of the capital, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said a private home was damaged and a woman was wounded. He also said a power line and an industrial facility in the city of Novomoskovsk were hit. Russian independent reporting said a chemical plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk caught fire after the strikes, but that claim was not officially confirmed and could not be independently verified.

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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 47 drones were brought down as they approached the capital. He said there were no casualties or damage in the city. The figures point to a coordinated overnight effort that reached multiple layers of Russian air defences and prompted local damage reports in at least one region.

The attack comes amid a sustained Ukrainian aerial campaign against Russian territory. That campaign has increasingly targeted energy infrastructure and oil refineries in recent months, according to the reported context. It has also been linked to fuel shortages inside Russia, disruption to military supply lines and pressure on Moscow's battlefield operations.

Earlier attacks this week were reported to have knocked out power in Sevastopol in Russian-held Crimea and set facilities ablaze across central and southern Russia. The latest overnight incident suggests the pattern of cross-border strikes has continued at scale. It also underlines the widening reach of the air war, with drones reported over regions, occupied territory and nearby seas.

What remains unclear is the full extent of damage outside Tula region and whether all reported fires and industrial impacts can be independently confirmed. It is also not clear how many drones were launched, where they originated from, or whether any reached their intended targets. Further official updates may clarify the damage assessment and whether the overnight figures change as local authorities continue checks.

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