Ukraine Targets Moscow With More Than 430 Drones: Ukraine launched one of its largest-ever drone attacks on Moscow, launching more than 430 drones, with Russian authorities claiming to have intercepted over 400 of them targeting the capital and surrounding regions overnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated that 36 drones were destroyed on their immediate approach to the city, as the massive barrage disrupted commercial flights and caused widespread alarm.
Neptune Cruise Missile Ukraine Government Photo
“The majority were neutralized by air defense systems at distant approaches, while 36 enemy drones were destroyed as they approached Moscow,” he said.
The strikes are part of a massive, coordinated long-range assault spanning multiple Russian regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to expand this “40-day influence operation” into Russian territory to increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin to end the war, while also citing them as retaliation for deadly Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
Previous major drone attacks occurred in mid- and late June, with targets including Moscow’s Kapotnya oil refinery and key energy infrastructure, which temporarily disrupted fuel supplies and caused significant anxiety across the capital.
Zelenskyy Calls On Putin To End The War
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s operation is pressuring Putin to end the fighting by attacking Russian energy infrastructure, which will deny its use to continue the fighting and destroy Moscow’s economy.
Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Industry Handout.
“When it is no longer one hundred drones but one thousand flying towards Moscow… he will understand,” Zelenskyy said.
“Once he begins to feel it personally, once he begins to see it with his own eyes, you will see advisers urging him to relocate somewhere beyond the Urals,” he added. “The farther Putin is from Moscow, the closer the end of the war will be.”
Russia accused Ukraine of targeting civilian infrastructure in the overnight strikes. Russia has attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure since the beginning of the war in 2022.
In other regions, acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev of Belgorod said that the city of Belgorod experienced another partial blackout and water supply disruptions due to attacks on its energy infrastructure.
“Although most of the missiles were intercepted, some struck civilian infrastructure,” he posted on Telegram.
Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an “industrial facility” in the region southwest of Moscow.
The Ukrainian Army General Staff claimed responsibility for the drone attacks but said they only targeted military facilities: “Two defense industry facilities in the Bryansk region, the oil depot at Belgorod airfield, bridges and other enemy targets have been struck,” the army wrote on Facebook.
Russia’s Air Defenses Overwhelmed By Sheer Numbers
These concentrated drone attacks are exacting a severe toll on Russia’s military and its energy infrastructure.
But it isn’t as if Moscow’s air defenses aren’t working. The Defense Ministry said that it shot down 452 drones overnight in the skies over 16 Russian regions, including Moscow, as well as over Russian-occupied Crimea, and over both the Azov and Black Seas.
Of those, 430 were heading toward Moscow, said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. According to him, most of the drones were “neutralized well before reaching the city.”
According to the state-run news agency TASS, this attack on the capital was the largest in the past two years.
They are simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of drones being launched against them. While they drop the majority of them, invariably some drones are getting through, and they are taking a huge toll on Russia’s energy resources, its resupply routes, and now its power stations.
Russia’s Airports Put On Flight Restrictions
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, posted on Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at airports in Sochi, Krasnodar, Kaluga, Saratov, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and Cheboksary.
All four of Moscow’s international airports, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky, were also put under flight restrictions during the overnight drone attacks.
Zelenskyy Asks For More Patriot Missiles After Deadly Kyiv Attack
On Monday night, a massive Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv resulted in more than 30 Ukrainian civilians being killed.
Kyiv’s ballistic missile defenses are unable to defend the capital. Ukrainian officials said the country’s air defense systems can counter drones and cruise missiles but lack sufficient interceptors for ballistic missile threats.
None of the 29 ballistic missiles launched by Russia during the attack overnight on July 6 were intercepted, Air Force spokesperson Colonel Yurii Ihnat confirmed, saying the interception “success rate is low, to put it mildly.”
“To shoot down ballistic missiles, you need the assets to do so. We have enough systems, but what we need is a steady supply of missiles.”
He added that Moscow is aware of this shortage and “is exploiting the fact that Ukraine, and indeed the world, is facing a serious shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles.”
President Zelenskyy has urged NATO and European allies to provide additional air defense interceptors, particularly for US-made Patriot air defense systems, warning that delays in deliveries leave Ukraine vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks.
“It is critically important that the world, first and foremost the United States and our European partners, come out of the NATO Summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defence,” Zelenskyy said.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
