MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday that a massive overnight Ukrainian drone barrage killed four people and wounded several others in one of the largest aerial attacks on Russian territory since the war began.
According to Russia’s defence ministry, air defence systems intercepted 556 drones overnight across 14 regions, along with Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. Authorities later reported another 30 drones were neutralised after dawn.
Officials in the Moscow region said three people were killed during the attacks, including a woman who died after a drone struck a private house. One more person was reported trapped beneath rubble.
Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said four people were also injured and several infrastructure facilities were targeted during the large-scale assault.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences intercepted more than 80 drones around the capital overnight. He added that debris caused minor damage to residential buildings and injured construction workers near an oil and gas refinery, though refinery operations were not disrupted.
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, authorities said one man was killed after a drone struck a lorry in the Shebekino district.
The attacks came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed further retaliatory strikes following a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv.
Ukraine’s air force meanwhile said it intercepted 279 Russian drones launched overnight.
