Ukraine launches massive drone barrage as Russian strike kills 10
Ukraine fired nearly 800 drones at Russia in a major overnight attack. A Russian missile strike on a Kharkiv village killed at least 10 civilians.
Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone offensives against Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, launching nearly 800 unmanned aircraft in a single night. The attack, which came just two days after a similar large-scale salvo, targeted multiple Russian regions, including the Moscow area, as well as annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas.
Russian air defenses intercepted 791 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to Moscow's Defense Ministry. More than 600 of the drones were directed toward the Moscow region, where officials reported shooting down 180. Three people were injured in the surrounding region, though no deaths or major damage were reported. A fire broke out at a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, which Ukraine has repeatedly targeted, claiming the facilities support the Russian military. The company said the damage was "insignificant."
The aerial assault unfolded as Russian forces struck the village of Pechenihy in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region with a missile, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding 17 others, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration. The strike damaged 10 homes, a cafe, a post office, a store, and at least seven vehicles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack and vowed a response, saying, "We will definitely respond to this Russian strike."
In a separate development, Ukrainian police reported that three people were killed and three wounded over the past day in Russian attacks on the Sumy region, including drone strikes and an explosive device blast.
The exchanges mark an escalating duel of long-range aerial strikes, even as ground fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line remains heavily constrained by drones and ground robots, according to analysts. Ukraine has increasingly relied on domestically produced long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia, aiming to make the war's consequences felt by the Russian public and pressure President Vladimir Putin into peace negotiations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Putin of prolonging the conflict, stating that Moscow continues to "drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine's realistic ceasefire proposals."