Ukraine sends 400 drones towards Moscow as Russia steps up missile strikes

Kyiv,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 14:22 IST

Ukraine launched more than 400 drones towards Moscow in one of its biggest strikes on the Russian capital, according to the city’s mayor, hours after Russia hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles. The fresh exchanges underlined the continuing cycle of retaliatory attacks, with any settlement to end Moscow’s more than four-year-old full-scale invasion still appearing far away.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would hold "key talks" on Monday as he seeks to contain a domestic political crisis following last week’s government reshuffle. The changes brought into focus a sharp divide between the military’s old guard and younger innovators over how to conduct the war.

Zelenskyy is under pressure to reassure Ukrainians that removing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov from consideration as defence minister and retaining 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief will not hurt the war effort against Russia. His decision prompted days of street protests in support of Fedorov and against Syrskyi.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 400 Ukrainian drones were launched towards the Russian capital from late Sunday to early Monday. He said most were brought down far from the city and 85 were intercepted near Moscow. Andrei Vorobyov, who heads the region around Moscow, said 10 people were wounded and that several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure sites were damaged.

The attack also caused a fire at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, about 30 kilometres south of Moscow, according to Yevgeniya Khrustaleva, head of the Domodedovo area in the Moscow region. The Astra news outlet reported that the assault also caused a fire at an oil depot in Podolsk, about 20 kilometres south of Moscow, though there was no official confirmation.

Ukraine’s long-range drone programme has advanced quickly during the war, creating a challenge for Russia because of the difficulty of protecting its vast territory. Kyiv has particularly targeted Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages and embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin. In May, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences had shot down 1,054 Ukrainian drones in a 24-hour period.

As Kyiv continues to seek sophisticated interceptors from foreign partners to counter Russian ballistic missiles, which are much harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles, Moscow has tried to exploit gaps in Ukraine’s air defences. Russia has in recent weeks increased its use of ballistic missiles, and Ukrainian officials said a bombardment on Sunday killed at least six people and injured dozens.

"Russian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month," the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Sunday. "Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles," it said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that its forces struck fuel tanks in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa overnight. Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired two missiles and 94 long-range strike drones at Ukrainian territory overnight. It said air defences jammed or intercepted 81 drones, while nine drones and one missile caused damage at nine locations. The latest attacks on both sides came as Ukraine faced political strains at home and both countries continued to press their military campaigns.

With PTI Inputs

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