Russian forces have carried out a large-scale missile and drone strike against military-related targets in Ukraine in response to “terrorist attacks” Kiev launched over the weekend, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
On Sunday, Moscow and its suburbs came under what appeared to be the largest Ukrainian drone raid in more than a year, which left at least three people, including an Indian national, killed and over a dozen wounded. Kiev launched some 130 UAVs at the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the overnight bombardment focused on Ukrainian defense industry facilities; fuel, energy and transport infrastructure; as well as naval ports and military airfields.
Land- and sea-based precision weapons and drones were deployed during the attack, the ministry said.
“The objective of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets were hit,” it stressed.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky praised his military and intelligence services for the attack on Moscow, in which three civilians were killed. It “sent a clear signal that one shouldn’t mess with Ukraine,” he claimed.
Zelensky also suggested that the raid meant that the conflict was moving to Russian territory, neglecting the steady advance by Moscow’s forces in Donbass and along other parts of the frontline.
Ukrainian drone raids deep inside Russia have intensified since mid-March, with Kiev launching hundreds of fixed-wing UAVs on an almost daily basis against residential neighborhoods, civilian infrastructure, and industrial facilities far from the front.
Russian officials have described the aerial incursions as “terrorist attacks” meant to compensate for the setbacks the Ukrainian military has been suffering on the battlefield.
Russia has responded with long-range missile and drone strikes targeting Ukraine’s military, energy, and other dual-use infrastructure, and has said the operations are aimed solely at assets supporting Kiev’s war effort and not at civilian targets.