Ukrainian drones target Moscow and other Russian regions
Russian air defenses destroyed dozens of incoming Ukrainian drones across multiple regions on Sunday night and early Monday morning. Kiev has intensified its UAV raids deep into Russian territory over the past week, even after calling for renewed peace talks.
At least 13 drones headed toward the Russian capital were intercepted by 6:30am Monday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding that the emergency services were working at the crash sites where debris fell.
The wreckage of one of the drones fell on the roof of a high-rise building in the New Moscow suburb of the Russian capital, triggering a small fire but causing no injuries, according to Sobyanin.
Two people were injured in drone strikes on a civilian vehicle and a private house in Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
The raids also affected Russia’s southern Rostov Region, where Governor Yury Slyusar reported interceptions in the towns of Shakhty, Novoshakhtinsk, and Novocherkassk.
There were no casualties, according to the governor, but one UAV damaged the “old control room” of a railway station in a mining settlement near Shakhty. Debris from another drone struck a private house, a summer kitchen, and two cars in a nearby village, Slyusar said.
Kiev has significantly stepped up long-range UAV strikes over the past week, with the Russian Defense Ministry reporting waves of drone interceptions each day. In its latest update, the ministry said a total of 43 drones were downed from 8:00pm to 11:30pm on Sunday in Bryansk, Oryol, Kaluga, Belgorod, and Moscow regions.
The Russian government previously condemned the raids as “terrorist attacks,” claiming they often target residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. In response, the Russian military carried out a series of strikes last week on Ukrainian defense industrial facilities involved in the production of drones and missile components.
Russia and Ukraine held two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in recent months, but the negotiations stalled in June after Kiev rejected Moscow’s peace proposals. Ukraine later declared the process “exhausted” and indicated it had only taken part to avoid appearing dismissive of US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic initiative.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed on Saturday that the “pace of negotiations must be increased,” offering to hold a new round of talks in Istanbul – after Moscow accused it of stalling and urged Trump to pressure Kiev.
