Ukraine Launches Large Drone Attack on Moscow Ahead of Trump-Zelensky Talks

By Staff, Agencies

Ukraine launched a large-scale overnight drone attack on Moscow, sending more than 390 unmanned aerial vehicles toward the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. Officials said there were no reported fatalities, although several residential areas sustained damage.

In a statement posted on Telegram Tuesday, Sobyanin said Russian air defenses intercepted the majority of the drones well before they reached the capital, with 81 shot down as they approached Moscow.

Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said a residential building in the town of Chekhov, about 50 kilometers south of Moscow, was directly hit. Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene, and authorities confirmed that no casualties were reported.

Vorobyov added that debris from intercepted drones ignited several fires across the region, including a blaze involving stored tires at an open site and another that destroyed a house in the nearby village of Vaulovo.

In Russia’s Belgorod Region, Governor Alexandr Shuvayev said a Ukrainian drone struck a civilian bus, injuring 19 people.

Russian Foreign Ministry envoy-at-large Rodion Miroshnik, who monitors what Moscow describes as Ukrainian war crimes, said Ukrainian attacks over the past week killed 57 civilians, including seven children, and wounded another 435 people. According to Miroshnik, drone attacks accounted for 91% of those casualties.

The latest wave of strikes also follows recent Ukrainian attacks on warehouses operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Kiev has claimed the facilities are used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and equipment for Russian forces, while Moscow denies the company has any role in supporting the military.

Russia has responded to the long-range drone campaign by carrying out strikes against Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure, including facilities involved in drone production.

The attack came just hours before Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The meeting coincides with a memorial service in Washington for late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent advocate of US military support for Ukraine.

Reuters reported last week, citing a Ukrainian source, that Washington and Kiev had discussed proposing an air ceasefire to Moscow as part of renewed efforts to revive stalled peace negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, questioned the report, saying Russia had not received any formal proposal.

Speaking in late June, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes have caused damage inside Russia but said the effects have not been critical and that damaged facilities can be repaired quickly.