Ukraine launched renewed attacks on the Russian capital overnight into Sunday, according to Russian and Ukrainian sources, after Moscow doubled down on missile and drone strikes across Ukraine.
Why It Matters
Kyiv has occasionally targeted Moscow with long-range drone strikes, and launched a string of attacks on the Russian capital in recent days.
Russia has intensified its own aerial assaults on the Ukrainian capital and many other regions of Ukraine in the past few weeks, despite U.S. efforts to secure a ceasefire deal and increasing frustration from U.S. President Donald Trump with Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin.
What To Know
Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russian air defenses had destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones over Moscow, then quickly said another seven had been intercepted.
Alexey Filippov / Sputnik via AP
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in its own statement that Ukraine had launched 93 drones at Russia between 11:30 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday and 7 a.m. local time on Sunday. A total of 19 Ukrainian drones flew over the broader Moscow region, with 16 heading directly for the Russian capital city, the Russian government said. The Defense Ministry later reported Ukraine had launched seven more drones over the Moscow region from just after 8 a.m. Moscow time to midday.
A pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with purported links to Russian law enforcement reported a car “exploded after being hit by debris” from a Ukrainian drone in Zelenograd, on the northwestern edge of Moscow. The Baza Russian Telegram channel reported that debris from an intercepted drone had fallen on a multi-storey building in Zelenograd.
Russian state media reported temporary restrictions were put in place at Sheremetyevo airport, east of Zelenograd, citing the country’s federal air transport agency. Restrictions were also imposed on the Moscow airports of Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky, as well as Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, according to several Russian reports.
A total of 134 flights were diverted over the weekend, a spokesperson for the Rosaviatsiya federal air transport agency said.
“Moscow was attacked by UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles],” Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s national security and defense council, said in a post to social media on Sunday. Kovalenko shared footage the Ukrainian official said showed passengers at Sheremetyevo, which Newsweek could not independently verify.
Ukraine said on Sunday Russia had launched 57 drones at several regions of the war-torn country overnight, after reporting Moscow fired 344 drones at Ukraine into Saturday morning. Russia also used 12 short-range ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles from late on Friday into the early hours of Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said.
U.S.-brokered efforts to push Moscow into a ceasefire deal have so far failed, and Trump told the BBC earlier this month he was “disappointed” in the Russian leader, but “not done with him.”
“We’ll have a great conversation. I’ll say: ‘That’s good, I’ll think we’re close to getting it done,’ and then he’ll knock down a building in Kyiv,” Trump said. The Republican greenlit further U.S. weapons support for Ukraine via NATO nations last week, and said Russia had 50 days to clinch a ceasefire deal or face tariffs.
Moscow said Ukraine saw this as a “signal to continue the war” and abandon peace talks. Western leaders and Ukraine have repeatedly said Russia is stalling ceasefire negotiations.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday Trump had asked Zelensky during a phone call earlier in July whether Ukraine could strike Moscow or the city of St Petersburg, if the U.S. furnished Ukraine with long-range weapons.
Trump publicly told reporters Ukraine “shouldn’t target Moscow.” White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, appeared to acknowledge the remarks but described them as “wildly out of context.”
“President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing,” Leavitt said in a statement. “He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”
What People Are Saying
Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Sunday there were “no serious injuries or casualties” after a Ukrainian drone targeted Zelenograd, on the outskirts of Moscow.