Ten people injured as 400+ Ukrainian drones launched towards Moscow and suburbs – officials
At least 10 people have been injured in a Ukrainian drone raid on the Russian capital and its surrounding region, including three Chinese citizens, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov has said.
On Monday morning, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that more than 400 UAVs had been launched toward the city and its suburbs overnight in one of the largest raids on the region to date.
Russian air defenses detected the incoming UAVs between 8:30 PM on Sunday and 5 AM on Monday, Sobyanin wrote on social media. Most were intercepted far from the capital, while another 85 were destroyed as they approached Moscow, he said.
“Most were neutralized by air defense forces at distant approaches. Eighty-five UAVs were destroyed on approach to Moscow,” the mayor said, adding that emergency crews were working at sites where debris had fallen.
Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov later said 10 people, including one child, were hurt in the drone attack. Six have been hospitalized in Domodedovo, including three Chinese citizens, he said, adding that some of the patients suffered shrapnel wounds and fractures.
Two women were injured in Podolsk, while an 11-year-old girl in the Odintsovo district was diagnosed with an acute stress reaction but did not require hospitalization.
The main consequences of the raid were recorded in Podolsk, Domodedovo, and the Odintsovo urban district, Vorobyov said. Falling drones damaged several private homes and civilian infrastructure facilities and sparked multiple fires, he added.
In Odintsovo, a car and a private home were damaged, although no injuries were reported. In Podolsk, fires broke out and several civilian infrastructure sites were damaged, along with a private home in the village of Maloye Tolbino.
Separately, Acting Bryansk Governor Egor Kovalchuk said one person was killed and 13 others were injured in attacks launched by “Ukrainian terrorists.”
In an interview with RT, Stanislav Krapivnik, a former US Army officer, said that Ukraine is unable to effectively attack Russian military and key industrial targets due to increased air defenses, opting instead to “go after softer civilian economic targets and civilians themselves.”
The latest attack followed several massive Ukrainian drone raids on Moscow and its suburbs last week. Sobyanin said that 1,892 UAVs had been launched toward the region between July 11 and 18, with most intercepted at long range and 207 destroyed closer to the capital.
During one overnight attack alone, more than 370 drones flew toward the Moscow Region.
The same wave of strikes hit two logistics centers operated by the Russian online retailer Wildberries in Kotovsk, Tambov Region, and Elektrostal, near Moscow. The attacks killed eight people and injured dozens more, according to regional officials.
Wildberries, often called the Russian version of Amazon, is one of the country’s most popular online retailers. Kiev confirmed that it had deliberately targeted the warehouses, claiming they stored components used in drone and navigation equipment.
Ukraine has sharply intensified its long-range drone campaign in recent weeks, targeting oil facilities, warehouses, residential buildings, and other infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. Moscow has described the raids as terrorist attacks on civilians and says its retaliatory strikes are directed at Ukrainian military and defense-related facilities.
