Massive Drone Barrage Strikes Moscow Region, Igniting Major Fire
Russia says it intercepted 650 drones over the Moscow region, as Ukraine strikes back against Moscow's intensified air campaign on its cities.
A massive Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region overnight killed two people and ignited a fire at a major fuel depot, authorities said, with Russian media reporting the strikes on Tuesday. A 20-year-old man was killed in the village of Radumlya, north of Moscow, while rescuers recovered the body of a 71-year-old man from under the rubble of a destroyed home in Barybino to the south. Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed the fatalities and said nine people had been injured. Forty-seven private homes and four apartment buildings were damaged across seven municipalities, he added, ordering local authorities to accelerate reconstruction efforts.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a majority of the 650 drones launched toward the Russian capital had been intercepted, 105 of them on their immediate approach to Moscow. He reported dozens more interceptions in rapid succession on Tuesday morning. The exiled outlet Astra reported that video of one of the attacks showed a fire at the Moscow region's largest fuel storage hub, the Volodarskaya line production and dispatch station. The Moscow Times could not independently verify the report. The Transneft-owned facility handles up to 3 million metric tons of petroleum products per year and directly supplies fuel to Moscow's main airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. According to Astra, the Volodarskaya station had not previously been targeted in Ukrainian attacks. Severe delays and flight cancellations were reported at Sheremetyevo International Airport during the overnight air raid alerts.
The attack follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's weekend pledge to target Russian energy infrastructure in response to Moscow's intensified air campaign against Ukrainian cities. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted 868 Ukrainian drones over dozens of Russian regions overnight. It said its forces conducted retaliatory strikes against cargo ships and port infrastructure in Ukraine's Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk and Izmail, as well as digital data centres across several major Ukrainian cities. On Sunday, the Russian Defence Ministry said it would intensify strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine in response to Zelensky's pledge.
The overnight assault represents one of the most significant Ukrainian drone operations against Russian territory in recent months, striking deep within the Moscow region and disrupting civilian aviation. Ukraine, defending its sovereignty against Russia's unprovoked invasion, has increasingly targeted Russian energy infrastructure and military logistics in an effort to degrade Moscow's capacity to sustain its brutal campaign. The Kremlin's assault on its neighbour, now well into its fourth year, has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.