Two Killed in Ukrainian Drone Attack on Moscow Region, Russia Says

At least two people have been killed and six injured in what Russian officials described as a "massive" overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region, according to the regional governor, Andrei Vorobyev.

Vorobyev said on Telegram that 249 drones had been shot down and reported fires in several residential houses. A local warehouse was also ablaze. In the capital, Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone struck a building near one of the city's boulevards and damaged a facility at an oil refinery. He said 450 drones heading for Moscow had been shot down in what he called an "unprecedented attack." The refinery is a key energy infrastructure facility.

Flight restrictions were in place at two of Moscow's airports. Sheremetyevo, the city's biggest airport, warned passengers about "temporary restrictions," while all arrivals and departures were halted at Vnukovo airport. The restrictions caused delays and cancellations for travellers.

The regional governor provided further details of the casualties. A 44-year-old woman was killed in Sofyino when a drone hit a three-storey residential building, and five others, including two children, were injured. In the Orekhovo-Zuevo district, an elderly man died after a private house was hit, Vorobyev said.

Videos circulating on social media purportedly showed explosions in the night skies over the Moscow region and a burning warehouse. These videos have not been independently verified.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported that seven people, including two children, were killed in Russian attacks on the Kyiv and Sumy regions on Saturday. In the city of Fastiv, a mother and her two small children—a boy and a girl—were killed, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv regional administration. He added that several private houses were damaged. In the north-eastern Sumy region, four people were killed when a Russian drone hit the car they were travelling in, said Oleh Hryhorov, a top local official. The attacks in Ukraine occurred on Saturday, a day before the drone strike on Moscow.

Both Russia and Ukraine have recently intensified their strikes, targeting energy-generating and transport facilities, as well as major logistics hubs. This escalation comes despite US President Donald Trump claiming on social media that the two sides had agreed not to target energy infrastructure. Both sides have continued to hit such targets in the past week.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict has since claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions, with both sides increasingly relying on drone and missile strikes. Drone warfare has become a defining feature of the conflict, with both sides deploying unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and combat. Ukraine has not officially commented on the attack on Russian territory. Kyiv typically does not confirm or deny strikes inside Russia, though it has said it has the right to target military and infrastructure sites used to support the invasion.

The reported scale of the drone attack is significant. Governor Vorobyev said 249 drones were shot down over the Moscow region, while Mayor Sobyanin said 450 drones targeting the capital were intercepted. These numbers, if accurate, would represent one of the largest single drone assaults on Russian territory since the war began. The attacks underscore the continued intensity of the conflict, with civilians on both sides suffering the consequences.