Ukraine fires nearly 800 drones at Russia in one of war's biggest attacks

Kyiv,UPDATED: Aug 18, 2026 16:44 IST

Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks on Russia since Moscow’s invasion more than four years ago, firing almost 800 drones overnight, officials said on Tuesday. The strike came just two days after a similar barrage, as both sides stepped up long-range attacks far from the front line.

At the same time, a Russian missile strike on Pechenihy village in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region killed 10 civilians, according to preliminary information from regional officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as "a brutal attack", while officials said homes and civilian infrastructure were damaged.

The two countries are locked in an escalating duel of aerial strikes, with analysts saying there has been no major progress on the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern and southern Ukraine. Large numbers of drones and ground robots have restricted troop movement on both sides.

Over the past year, Ukraine has developed and deployed domestically made long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia. Kyiv has said it wants Russians to feel the consequences of the war and to pressure President Vladimir Putin into peace talks. Putin, however, has shown no sign of stopping the invasion. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, "Putin continues to drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine’s realistic ceasefire proposals and ending the bloodshed."

Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted 791 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as over annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. According to an Associated Press tally, it was the second-largest drone attack since January 2025. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 600 Ukrainian drones headed towards the Moscow region, where 180 were shot down, though he gave no further details.

Officials said there were no deaths and no major damage. In the Moscow region, which surrounds but does not include the Russian capital, three people were wounded, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. In the neighbouring Ryazan region, three more people were wounded and three private houses were damaged, Governor Pavel Malkov said. The attack also caused a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in an industrial zone. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the company’s depots, saying they help supply the Russian military. Wildberries said the facility suffered "insignificant damage".

Coverage of the attack in Russian state and Kremlin-backed media was limited. Russia 1 and Channel One did not mention it in their morning bulletins. State news agency RIA Novosti, however, carried it among the main items on its website, calling it "one of the most large-scale attacks on Moscow since the beginning of the summer". State newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta highlighted Vorobyov’s account of the attack and described it as "massive" in its headline, while pro-Kremlin tabloid MK carried a brief on its home page.

In Ukraine, Kharkiv regional military administration head Oleh Syniehubov said the missile strike on Pechenihy killed 10 civilians and wounded 17 others. Zelenskyy said, "We will definitely respond to this Russian strike." Syniehubov said the attack damaged 10 homes, a cafe, a post office, a store and at least seven vehicles.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Police said three people were killed and three others wounded in Russian attacks on the Sumy region over the past day, including drone strikes and an explosive device blast.

The UK Defence Ministry also said on Tuesday that it would continue military support for Kyiv after Russia warned that Ukraine’s reported use of British drones against Russian territory would bring consequences for London. A British defence spokesperson said, "Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion." The warning from Moscow followed a report in The Sunday Times that two UK companies had made drones used by Ukraine to strike Russia.

The latest wave of strikes underlined how the war is increasingly being fought through long-range drones and missiles, even as the front line remains largely unchanged and both sides continue to trade attacks deep inside each other’s territory.

With PTI Inputs

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