Nearly 600 drones launched in a single night against 14 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov areas. Between last night and today, Sunday 17 May, Ukraine launched one of the largest air attacks on Russian territory since the start of the war which, according to the Moscow authorities, caused at least four deaths and a dozen injuries.
The mayor of Moscow talks about the largest attack against the Russian capital in the last year
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defenses shot down 556 drones overnight and neutralized another 30 after dawn. Among the areas most affected is the Moscow region, where three victims were recorded. A fourth person died in the Belgorod region, on the border with Ukraine.
The mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin spoke of the largest attack against Moscow in the last year, claiming that 81 drones heading towards the city were intercepted by air defense systems. Twelve people were reportedly injured, many of them near the Moscow oil refinery.
In the city of Khimki, north of the capital, a woman died after a house was hit. Two more victims were reported in Mytishchi district. Local authorities also speak of damaged residential buildings and affected infrastructure. Sheremetyevo Airport also confirmed the fall of drone debris in the airport area, without operational consequences.
Zelensky: “Let’s bring the war back to its point of origin”
The attack comes days after one of the heaviest Russian offensives against Kiev since the start of the war, with missile and drone bombing of the Ukrainian capital for two consecutive days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had promised a response. The president denounced the massive Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory, with over 3 thousand drones, which caused 52 deaths and 346 injuries in a week. A heavy budget which, underlined the leader of Kiev, requires greater protection for the Ukrainian people.
In his evening speech Zelensky claimed the change in strategy and the increase in long-range attack capabilities. “Many partners are now understanding what is happening and how everything has changed, both in the attitude towards this war and in the achievability of objectives on Russian territory,” he said.
Then the harshest message addressed to Moscow: “The war is predictably returning to its home port. It is a clear signal that Ukraine should not be provoked or an unjust war of conquest against another people waged.”
Zelensky also said that Ukraine is now capable of hitting targets beyond 500 kilometers from the border, despite the defense systems deployed around the Russian capital.
The Ukrainian president also claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russian strategic infrastructure. “Russians should be thinking about their refineries, their oil facilities and their businesses, not about how to ruin the lives of other nations, be it Ukraine, Moldova or any other neighboring country,” he said.
According to the Kiev General Staff, in the last 24 hours Ukrainian forces have struck targets in the occupied territories, including Crimea. One of the raids apparently caused a fire in a factory near Moscow involved in the production of precision weapons. A command center used to coordinate drone flights in an occupied area of the Donetsk region would also be centered.
Ukraine has stepped up raids on Russian refineries, oil depots and energy infrastructure in recent months in an attempt to weaken the Kremlin’s industrial and logistical capacity.
Moscow accuses: “Terrorist attack”
Russia rejects the Ukrainian narrative and accuses Kiev of deliberately targeting civilians. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the offensive “another massive terrorist attack,” while also criticizing European support for Ukraine.
Both sides meanwhile systematically deny targeting civilian populations as the war continues further away from the front lines, turning energy infrastructure, industrial plants and cities into strategic targets on both sides of the conflict.