by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine launched one of its largest drone barrages of the war against Russia overnight, killing at least four people — including three near Moscow — and wounding more than a dozen others, officials said Sunday.
Russian authorities said air defenses intercepted or jammed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, the annexed Crimean Peninsula, and nearby seas within 24 hours, marking one of the biggest aerial attacks on Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strikes as “entirely justified,” saying they were retaliation for repeated Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelensky said, adding that the drones had reached the Moscow region despite heavy Russian air defenses.
MOSCOW REGION HIT
A woman was killed after a drone struck her home in Khimki near Moscow, while two men died in a nearby village north of the Russian capital, regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
Another man was killed in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine after a drone reportedly hit a truck.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said at least 12 people were injured, including several near the entrance of Moscow’s oil refinery.
Russian authorities said drone debris also fell near Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport without disrupting flights.
RETALIATION FOR KYIV STRIKES
Military analysts said the barrage appeared to be retaliation for recent Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv following the collapse of a brief ceasefire linked to Russia’s Victory Day commemorations.
Nigel Gould-Davies of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the attacks demonstrated Ukraine’s growing ability to strike deep inside Russia and bring the war closer to ordinary Russians.
Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes overnight wounded eight people in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, including in the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian officials said.
Residential buildings were reportedly damaged in several locations in a war believed to have killed and injured up to two million people on both sides, while displacing millions more.
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