On Tuesday, Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks yet on Russia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said forces intercepted and destroyed some 791 Ukrainian drones overnight. National Security Journal can’t verify this figure.
The Army test fires a Patriot missile in a recent test. The Patriot missile system is a ground-based, mobile missile defense interceptor deployed by the United States to detect, track and engage unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and short-range and tactical ballistic missiles. Patriot, along with other missile defense systems, are included in the Army Air and Missile Defense 2028, which provides the Army’s overarching vision for the AMD force, describes how the AMD force is postured to support the Army and joint forces, and articulates what must be accomplished to achieve the 2028 desired end state of preventing and defeating adversary air and missile attacks through a combination of deterrence, active and passive defense, and support to attack operations. (U.S. Army photo)
Patriot Missile Interceptor Test. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Associated Press, which has tracked Russian announcements, described it as the second-largest Ukrainian drone attack since January 2025.
Moscow Under Fire
Moscow, Russia’s capital, was the main target of the attack.
The city’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 620 drones flew toward Moscow and the surrounding region between Monday evening and 5 a.m. Tuesday. He claimed some 180 were destroyed in the capital region.
Russian officials reported no deaths and little major damage. Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said there were three casualties and no deaths. A further three people were reportedly injured in the neighboring Ryazan region, where three private homes were damaged.
Twenty Wildberries Warehouses Attacked Since July
A blaze also erupted at a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, although the company said the damage was “insignificant.”
Tuesday’s assault came only two days after another enormous Ukrainian attack. On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 822 drones nationwide. Moscow-region officials said an 83-year-old man was killed, while a Wildberries warehouse in Koledino was set ablaze.
The Russian state-affiliated news agency TASS, citing Sobyanin’s figures, called Tuesday’s raid the largest attempted drone attack on Moscow in two years. Just 48 hours earlier, the mayor said 600 drones had flown toward the capital and its surrounding region.
Roughly 20 of the firm’s facilities have been attacked since July, with Ukrainian officials accusing the firm’s logistics network of selling military and dual-use equipment.
Moscow has denied the allegation, although the platform offers items such as drone components, body armor, and thermal sights.
Kyiv Hits Russian Supplies Hard
Kyiv’s wider campaign has also repeatedly struck oil refineries, depots, military facilities, and transport infrastructure. Ukrainian officials say the aim is to disrupt Russia’s ability to sustain its invasion while bringing the consequences of the war deeper inside Russia.
On Tuesday, AP reported that Russia 1 and Channel One, the country’s main state television channels, did not mention the overnight attack in their morning news bulletins. RIA Novosti and several pro-Kremlin newspapers did cover it online.
Ukraine now claims that its method of targeting critical Russian energy and infrastructure sites had resulted in a more than $47.3 billion hit to the latter’s economy.
Ten Killed in Kharkiv
A Russian missile strike on Pechenihy, a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killed 10 people and wounded at least 18, Ukrainian officials have said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the missiles hit a busy intersection surrounded by residential buildings, stores, and a post office.
Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said 10 private buildings, a cafe, a post office, five stores, and 15 vehicles were damaged.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said preliminary information indicated that Russia used two Banderol cruise missiles.
“We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” Zelenskyy said.
The United Nations estimates that July was the worst month yet for Ukrainian civilian casualties in a single month since March 2022, with some 437 people killed and 2,610 injured. In the first seven months of the year, 1,839 Ukrainian civilians were killed and 10,638 injured.
Zelenskyy: We Need More Patriot Interceptors
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s ongoing attacks on Russia’s industrial and fuel infrastructure were part of its strategy of pressuring Moscow into a peace deal.
The Ukrainian air force says Patriots are the only missile systems Ukraine has access to that can intercept the Russian Iskander-M, S-400, and Zircon missiles.
“The only reason this is still continuing is Russia’s unwillingness to end this war,” he said during his regular nightly address.
Kyiv’s pressing shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors is putting its defense capabilities under huge pressure. Zelenskyy has called on the US to permit the supply of more Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target) interceptors.
Demand for the interceptors has risen sharply during the U.S. conflict with Iran.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
