A Russian civilian has been killed and three more injured in what appears to be the biggest Ukrainian drone attack on Russia in three years, Moscow officials say.
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions overnight, a record high for the war.
Fires raged from the exploding drones including in high rise residential buildings near Moscow, as Ukraine hit back at relentless recent bombardment from Russia.
The attack came as a Ukrainian delegation was set to meet with America’s top diplomat in Saudi Arabia about ending the three-year war with Russia.
The most drones – 126 – were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv’s forces control and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region.
Other regions listed included Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh on the border with Ukraine and those deeper inside Russia, such as Kaluga, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol and Ryazan.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials on the attack.
Earlier, Ukraine made a rare deployment of US-supplied HIMARS missiles against Russian territory at Dobrynya shopping centre in Belaya Sloboda, Kursk region, where four people were reported killed and 10 injured, including several teenagers.
A huge blast is seen as the Moscow region came under a massive drone attack overnight
Russia recorded a 337-drone attack as Ukraine strikes ten regions, including Moscow, hitting an oil refinery in the Oryol region and targeting the nuclear town of Kurchatov
The site where one of the shot down Ukrainian drones fell, outside Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions overnight, a record high for the war
A view shows a damaged apartment building in a residential complex following a drone attack in the village of Sapronovo in the Moscow region
An apartment building where a downed Ukrainian drone fell at an area in Sapronovo village outside Moscow
One drone exploded in Kurchatov, a town close to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, seen on footage and leading to a small fire.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying toward it.
Drones were shot down in the Ramensky and Domodedovo districts of the Moscow region surrounding the Russian capital, he said on the messaging app Telegram.
Twenty people – including two children – were injured during the attack by drones flying to Moscow, in Vidnoye, Ramenskoye and Domodedovo, said reports.
Hundreds of people were also forced to evacuate their homes as the drones rained down.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said one person was killed and three more wounded as a result of the drone attack.
The attack damaged seven apartments in a residential building in the Ramensky district, he said.
It also set cars on fire in a parking lot in the Domodedovo district, according to Russian state news agencies RIA Novosti and Tass.
Hundreds of people were also forced to evacuate their homes in Russia as the drones rained down overnight
Fires raged from the exploding drones including in high rise residential buildings near Moscow, as Ukraine hit back at relentless recent bombardment from Russia
This photo released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev on telegram shows a damaged part of an apartment following a Ukrainian drone attack in Domodedovo, outside Moscow
A residential building in Vidnoye, Moscow region was also hit with the windows blasted out and a hole in the roof
A two-story house in the village of Sofyino, Moscow region also ignited
Burnt out cars are seen after an apparent Ukrainian drone strike on Russia early this morning
A drone exploded as it hit a residential building in Ramenskoye, Moscow region, with the shock waves blowing out windows on the top floors of the building.
A residential building in Vidnoye, Moscow region was also hit with the windows blasted out and a hole in the roof.
Several other buildings were hit in Vidnoye, where six people including a child were injured, and a downed drone hit Lyubertsy in Moscow.
A two-story house in the village of Sofyino, Moscow region also ignited.
All four main Moscow airports – Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukova and Zhukovsky – were disrupted by the drone onslaught leading to dozens of arrival diversions and delayed takeoffs.
Nizhny Novgorod airport east of the capital was also temporarily closed.
Ukraine shared pictures of a Russian attack on the port city of Odesa overnight
A main railway line linking Domodedovo airport to Moscow city was hit with a ‘deafening explosion’ as a car park ignited in fire at the nearby car park of Miratorg meat processing plant, where a 37-year-old security guard was killed.
Twenty cars were burned out with a witness telling RBC: ‘The night shift was ending, the staff were about to leave the building when there was a loud roar. My Volkswagen Polo was damaged, but not as much as my comrades’ cars.’
Mash news outlet said Ukraine had used AN-196 Liutyi domestically-made drones as the mainstay of the overnight strikes.
A resident on Domodedovskaya Street in Moscow said she heard the drone – ‘the sound of a moped – and it crashes into the house, there’s an orange flash and that’s it’.
A key focus of the Ukrainian strikes was Kursk region, where thousands of Kyiv’s troops risk being surrounded by Russian forces backed by North Korean fighters.
Other regions hit in the concerted Ukrainian offensive included Lipetsk and Tula.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) walking with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) during their meeting in Jeddah last night
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this week, it was reported
A Russian defence ministry source said: ‘This is an attempt to divert attention from the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.
‘The chaotic massive attack on residential buildings was supposed to give hope for another ‘victory’ and morally prepare the Ukrainian troops for the retreat from the Sudzhansky district [Kursk].
‘But even this failed – the air defence worked flawlessly.’
However, the full extent of damage of the Ukrainian strikes was not immediately clear.
Almost 90 civilians from various regions of the Russian Federation suffered from strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the past week, with ten killed, including a child, said Russian Ambassador-at-Large, Rodion Miroshnik.
Russia hit Ukraine with overnight strikes on Kyiv and Odesa, where an oil depot and residential building was hit by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed forces.
Reports said that Zelensky had written to apologise for the White House meeting which led to deep trains with Trump.
With talks between Ukraine and the US due in Saudi Arabia today, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet with Putin in Moscow later this week, it was reported.
Ukraine will propose an air and naval ceasefire at today’s talks.
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