Russia announces it was attacked by 600 Ukrainian drones, resulting in 4 deaths

SadaNews - Russia announced today, Sunday, that it was subjected to a Ukrainian air attack considered to be among the largest in four years, involving about 600 drones, resulting in the death of four people in various parts of the country.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its air defenses managed to shoot down 556 Ukrainian drones between 10 PM on Saturday and 7 AM today, Sunday (19:00 – 04:00 GMT), while another 30 drones were intercepted in the morning.

According to Russian data, this large number of drones was intercepted over the skies of 14 Russian regions, in addition to areas in the Crimea Peninsula and the Sea of Azov, noting that the suburbs of Moscow were the most affected by the attack.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that a woman was killed in the town of Khimki northwest of Moscow and two men were killed in a village belonging to Mityshi northeast of the capital. He also mentioned that four other people were injured in other parts of the region, and several homes were damaged while the infrastructure was subjected to attacks.

In the capital Moscow, air defenses intercepted more than 80 drones, and an airstrike resulted in the injury of 12 people "mostly workers" at a construction site near an oil refinery. According to local authorities, the refinery's production was not affected, while three residential buildings were damaged.

In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, a man was killed at night in the Shebekino area due to an attack by a Ukrainian drone targeting a truck.

In contrast, the Ukrainian Air Force announced today, Sunday, that it intercepted 279 attack drones and one Russian decoy out of 287 launched overnight.

These escalating field developments come at a time when diplomatic efforts to end the war are at an impasse, as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine - mediated by Washington - have been stalled since the outbreak of war in the Middle East on February 28.

Resumption of Fighting

A three-day ceasefire mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump allowed a temporary halt to bombardment in areas far from the front lines, coinciding with Russia's commemoration of the end of World War II and the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. However, attacks resumed immediately after the ceasefire ended on Monday night.

According to an assessment released by Ukraine on Friday, at least 24 people were killed and about 50 others were injured in Russian attacks with long-range drones and missiles targeting Kyiv on Wednesday night.

Following those strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed on Friday his country's right to respond, saying: "We have every right to respond by targeting the Russian oil industry, its military production, and anyone directly responsible for war crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians."

Ukraine announced on Saturday that Russia handed over the remains of 528 Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battles, and the Ukrainian center responsible for prisoners of war stated that these remains were returned to the country based on Russian data suggesting they were Ukrainian soldiers, confirming that investigators and experts will take the necessary steps to identify the deceased.

The exchange of fighters' remains represents one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv since the outbreak of the widespread conflict more than four years ago. This came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week a three-day ceasefire and an agreement to release 1,000 prisoners from each side.

Source: Agencies