Russia on Tuesday reported shooting down 419 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, including in the Moscow region, where a six-month-old baby was killed, according to local authorities. The attack marks an escalation in Kyiv's long-range drone campaign as the conflict nears its four-and-a-half-year mark.
Massive Drone Swarm Intercepted
Moscow's defence ministry announced on the state-run Max platform that air defence systems "intercepted and destroyed 419 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles" nationwide. The figure comes days after Russia claimed to have shot down 660 Ukrainian drones between Thursday and Friday, one of the highest totals since the war began.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 61 "enemy drones" were downed over the capital since Monday evening. The scale of the overnight assault underscores Ukraine's intensified focus on striking deep inside Russian territory.
Baby Killed in Village Attack
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, confirmed that drones hit the village of Yevgoryevsk, southwest of Moscow, damaging a private house. "Unfortunately, a six-month-old baby died on the way to hospital," Vorobyov wrote on Telegram. Two adults and another child were hospitalized with injuries, he added.
The incident marks one of the deadliest single attacks on civilians in the Moscow region since Ukraine began its long-range drone campaign.
Ukraine Strikes Satellite Communications Center
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his forces struck the "Dubna space communications centre in the Moscow region" for the second time in a week. "This is a special satellite communications facility used, in particular, for reconnaissance and for coordinating the activity of Russia's occupation contingent in Ukraine," Zelensky said.
He characterized the attacks as "long-range sanctions" and justified them as fair retaliation for Moscow's daily barrages against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Expanding Reach of Ukrainian Drones
In recent months, Kyiv has hit targets as far as the Urals, demonstrating a growing capability to strike deep into Russian territory. Last week, a Ukrainian attack caused a fire at a refinery southeast of Moscow, further highlighting the expanding reach of the drone campaign.
The sustained drone strikes are part of a broader strategy to disrupt Russian military logistics and command-and-control infrastructure, while also putting pressure on the Kremlin domestically.
