Ukraine Launches Major Drone Offensive on Moscow Region
The targets were important to Russia's war effort, arguing that attacks on such facilities could reduce Moscow's ability to finance and supply its military operations
Ukraine has launched a major drone offensive against Moscow and the surrounding region, striking a major oil refinery and a residential building, Russian officials said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences destroyed about 450 drones heading towards the capital, describing the assault as the largest of its kind.
The attacks reportedly caused damage to the Moscow oil refinery, a key facility that supplies a significant portion of fuel consumed in the Moscow region. Ukrainian military officials said three major units at the refinery were damaged.
Moscow regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said two people were killed and at least 20 others injured in the attacks.
According to Vorobyov, a 44-year-old woman died after a drone struck a three-storey residential building in Sofyino. Five other people, including two children, were injured in the incident.
An elderly man was also killed after a drone struck a private residence in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo district, the governor said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv had targeted a key Russian oil facility and a logistics site in the Moscow region.
Zelensky said the targets were important to Russia’s war effort, arguing that attacks on such facilities could reduce Moscow’s ability to finance and supply its military operations.
Ukraine’s defence minister similarly described the strikes as an attempt to weaken Russia’s capacity to sustain its military campaign.
The attacks came as Russia’s parliamentary elections entered their final day. Sobyanin alleged that the drone offensive was aimed at disrupting the voting process, although Russian authorities said the election continued.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes in the Kyiv and Sumy regions on Saturday killed nine people, including three children.
The latest exchange of attacks comes amid an intensification of Russian and Ukrainian strikes against energy, transport and logistics infrastructure on both sides of the conflict.
Russian state media also reported that two people, including an election official, were killed when a drone struck a bus in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Kherson region.
