Ukraine strikes Moscow with 500 drones

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks of the war overnight into Sunday, sending waves of unmanned aircraft toward Moscow and other Russian regions, according to Russian officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses destroyed 556 Ukrainian drones between late Saturday and early Sunday, while local authorities reported four deaths nationwide, including three in the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the capital faced its biggest drone assault in more than a year. Zelensky later called the operation a justified response to continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities. ### How big was the strike on Moscow itself? Sergei Sobyanin said more than 120 drones aimed at Moscow had been intercepted over 24 hours, including at least 74 overnight, as air defenses worked around the capital. He said debris caused minor damage at several sites and that the “technology” of the Moscow oil refinery was not damaged. Russian state media and other reports described the barrage as the largest attack on Moscow in more than a year. (abcnews.com) TASS said more than 120 drones heading for Moscow were shot down in the previous 24 hours. ### Where were the deaths and damage reported? Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said three people were killed there. Reuters reported a fourth death in Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, citing local authorities. (gulftoday.ae) Khimki, just northwest of Moscow, was among the places hit. Vorobyov said a woman was killed when a drone struck a private house there, and other homes were damaged in the region. (tass.com) Images released by regional authorities showed rescuers working at heavily damaged residential buildings. ### How far across Russia did the attack reach? Russia’s Defense Ministry said the 556 drones were intercepted and destroyed over more than a dozen regions, including the Moscow region, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, Smolensk, Tver, Rostov and Krasnodar, as well as over annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. (usnews.com) The ministry said the tally covered the period from 10 p.m. Moscow time on May 16 to 7 a.m. on May 17. (msn.com) ABC News, citing the Russian ministry’s Telegram statement, said the attack targeted more than a dozen Russian regions. That breadth underscored the scale of the operation beyond the Moscow area alone. ### What did Ukraine say about carrying it out? Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the strikes on Moscow and the surrounding region were “entirely justified” responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities. (en.iz.ru) Ukrainian-linked outlets and other reports said he confirmed Ukrainian long-range drones were behind the operation. France 24, citing Zelensky, said he framed the attack as retaliation after another week of Russian aerial strikes on Ukraine. (abcnews.com) Reuters and other reports said Russia also launched heavy drone attacks on Ukraine the same night. ### Why are officials focusing on the drone count? The number 556 came from Russia’s Defense Ministry and refers to drones it said were intercepted and destroyed overnight across the country. (bssnews.net) That figure made the attack one of the biggest publicly reported Ukrainian drone operations of the war, according to multiple reports on Sunday. The casualty figures remained lower than the drone total might suggest because Russian officials said many aircraft were shot down before reaching their targets. (france24.com) Even so, local authorities reported deaths, injuries and damage to homes and industrial sites near Moscow. ### What comes next on Sunday? Russian regional officials said cleanup and damage assessments were continuing on May 17, with Vorobyov posting updates from the Moscow region and Sobyanin reporting interceptions and debris impacts in and around the capital. (en.iz.ru) Further casualty and damage figures were still being updated through official Telegram statements and state media reports on Sunday. (themoscowtimes.com) (usnews.com)