Ukraine strikes Moscow region with 500 drones

Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine launched one of the largest drone attacks of the war against Russian territory overnight, sending hundreds of unmanned aircraft toward Moscow and other regions. Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences destroyed 556 drones across the country overnight and into the morning, including dozens aimed at the capital region. Moscow regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said three people were killed in the region around the capital, while Reuters reported a fourth death in Russia's Belgorod region. Ukrainian officials did not immediately publicly claim responsibility, but the barrage followed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's warning on Friday that Kyiv was preparing further long-range retaliation against Russian targets. ### How big was the attack on Moscow? Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 81 drones headed for Moscow had been destroyed since midnight, and Reuters described it as the biggest assault on the capital in more than a year. Russia's Defence Ministry said the broader overnight barrage stretched across 14 regions, as well as Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. France 24, citing Russian officials, said the total far exceeded the few dozen drones more commonly reported in earlier attacks. (usnews.com) Russia's account put the capital region among the worst-hit areas. Sobyanin said 12 people were injured in Moscow, most of them near the entrance to the city's oil refinery, and said the refinery's operating systems were not damaged. He also said three houses in the capital were damaged by falling debris. ### Where were the deaths and damage reported? (usnews.com) Andrei Vorobyov said a woman was killed when a house was hit in Khimki, north of Moscow, and rescuers were searching the rubble for another person. He said two men were also killed in Pogorelki, a village in the Mytishchi district, and that several residential high-rises and infrastructure facilities were damaged across the region. Reuters said one more person was killed in Belgorod region. (usnews.com) Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow's largest, said drone debris fell on its grounds without causing damage, according to Reuters. Images carried by Reuters and other outlets showed emergency workers at damaged homes in the Moscow region, including in Krasnogorsk and other suburbs west and north of the capital. ### Did Ukraine say why it was striking so far inside Russia? (usnews.com) Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine was "defining targets" for its next long-range actions and said Russian strikes that killed Ukrainians would not go unpunished. ABC News quoted Zelenskyy as saying Ukraine was justified in responding against Russia's oil industry, military production and people "directly responsible" for war crimes. Ukraine had not immediately issued a formal military statement on the Moscow-region barrage in the reports available Sunday morning. (usnews.com) Zelenskyy also said on Sunday that Russia had launched more than 3,170 attack drones, more than 1,300 guided aerial bombs and 74 missiles against Ukraine over the previous week. That public accounting came days after a Russian strike on Kyiv that French and U.S. media reports said killed 24 people. ### How does this fit into the recent pattern of attacks? (abcnews.com) May 17 came days after the end of a three-day truce tied to Russia's Victory Day commemorations, a pause that both sides accused the other of violating, according to France 24. Since then, Moscow and Kyiv have resumed exchanging long-range strikes, with Russia continuing missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and Ukraine pressing deeper attacks on Russian military and energy-linked targets. (abcnews.com) The latest barrage showed how regularly the war now reaches Russian territory far from the border. Moscow lies about 400 kilometres, or 250 miles, from Ukraine, and while the wider capital region has been targeted before, direct attacks on the city itself have remained less frequent than strikes on border regions such as Belgorod. (france24.com) ### What happens next? Russian emergency services and investigators were working at impact sites in the Moscow region on Sunday, with Vorobyov posting updates from damaged residential areas and rescue operations. Russian officials were still counting casualties and damage in multiple regions as of Sunday morning, and state authorities were expected to issue further statements through the day. (usnews.com) (france24.com)