Moscow Faces Second Day of Mass Ukrainian Drone Attacks

Moscow faced a second day of large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks, with officials reporting hundreds of the unmanned craft flying toward the Russian capital and three fatalities in the surrounding region.

(Bloomberg) — Moscow faced a second day of large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks, with officials reporting hundreds of the unmanned craft flying toward the Russian capital and three fatalities in the surrounding region. More than 350 drones targeted the Moscow region from 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and Russian air defenses destroyed 50 as they approached the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Monday on Telegram.

The latest barrage followed an intense wave of attacks on Sunday, when Sobyanin said about 300 drones had targeted the Moscow region over the previous 24 hours. Moscow’s airports have faced repeated disruptions since Sunday morning, with multiple flights canceled or delayed because of drone attacks and temporary airspace restrictions. In the Moscow region, 81 drones were shot down or electronically jammed overnight, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.

He said the attack killed three people, injured five others and damaged multiple residential buildings. Ukraine has recently intensified drone strikes on Russia’s capital region. In June, Moscow experienced a record overnight aerial assault, with drones reaching the Moscow Oil Refinery, damaging the facility and contributing to fuel shortages in Russia.

The attacks are also having a psychological impact, with residents confronted by images of thick black smoke rising over southern Moscow, major road and airport closures, and reports of toxic rain falling in some districts. Moscow is protected by some of Russia’s most advanced air-defense systems, but recent large-scale drone attacks have exposed the limits of even layered defenses. While most unmanned aerial vehicles are intercepted, some have still managed to break through and strike targets.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin’s trust rating among Russians fell 4.4 percentage points over the past two weeks to 72.3% as of July 10, according to a survey by state-run pollster VTsIOM, the lowest level in months. Ukraine continued to target Russian energy infrastructure and grain-export routes over the weekend. Kyiv said its forces struck the Syzran oil refinery, causing a fire at the facility, according to a Telegram statement on Sunday by Ukraine’s General Staff.

Ukraine also said it has hit 90 vessels since July 6, though it did not specify where the attacks occurred. Russia has reported multiple strikes on ships in the Sea of Azov since Friday, underscoring the growing disruption to key Russian export shipping corridors. Russia in turn targeted Ukraine’s Black Sea ports over the weekend.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out overnight strikes on infrastructure in Chornomorsk, one of Ukraine’s three main Black Sea commercial ports in the Odesa region. The ministry said the targets were facilities used to unload and store military cargo and fuel. Bloomberg could not independently verify those claims.

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