Ukraine launches one of largest drone attacks on Russia, killing at least 6

Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday in one of the largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least six people, according to Russian regional officials.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 600 drones had been detected heading towards the Russian capital, with about a third destroyed over the Moscow region.

An 83-year-old man was killed after a Ukrainian drone hit a private home in the Moscow region, regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said. He also said a Ukrainian attack sparked a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk.

In Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, five people were killed in a drone attack targeting three towns, local Governor Yury Slyusar said. More than 150 drones were involved in the attack, which damaged homes and a railway station and triggered a forest fire.

Ukraine has stepped up long-range attacks on Russia this year, using missiles and large numbers of drones to target military industries and energy facilities. Attacks have also increasingly hit Wildberries warehouses, causing extensive damage to merchandise belonging to the Russian online retailer.

The strikes have brought the effects of the war closer to the Russian public nearly 4½ years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian strikes kill 5 in Ukraine

Russian strikes on Ukraine also killed at least five people on Sunday.

A Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih killed two people and wounded 14 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He also said another person was killed in the city of Sumy.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest steel producer, said one of its sites was hit in the missile attack and that operations had been partially suspended.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a man and a woman were killed when their home was hit by a Russian strike, regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov said.

Russian attacks also sparked fires in Kyiv and wounded six people. One of the capital’s largest book markets was badly damaged after a fire tore through kiosks near the Pochaina metro station.

“Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its strikes targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih and several military-industrial sites in Kyiv, including a facility producing Ukraine’s Flamingo missiles.

Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine had used the domestically produced missiles to strike a rocket research and production centre in Samara, around 900 km from the Ukrainian border.

NATO jet shoots down drone in Romanian airspace

Romania’s Defence Ministry said a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace on Sunday.

The drone was detected at 4.44 am, around 24 km north of the eastern city of Galati near the border with Moldova. The ministry said the Spanish aircraft, which was conducting air-policing duties, made radar contact with the drone and received approval to engage.

“The drone was safely shot down by the F-18 aircraft at 05:01,” the ministry said.

Drone debris was later reported in the Black Sea around 10 am, about 1.5 km from the coastal city of Constanta.

Romanian officials did not specify the drone’s origin.

The incident comes weeks after Romanian pilots shot down three drones over three days amid intensified Russian attacks near the border. Romania has reported dozens of drone incidents since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including cases in which drones crashed and exploded on Romanian territory.

Acting Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said Spain’s deployment in Romania had been expanded “at the request of Romania and NATO to bolster the Eastern Flank following prior drone incidents”. She said it was Spain’s fourth such deployment.