One Dead as Ukraine Conducts ‘Massive’ Drone Strike on Moscow | Russia-Ukraine War Update

At least one person has been killed and three injured as more than 90 Ukrainian drones targeted Russia’s capital city.

Ukraine launched a “massive” early morning drone attack on the Russian capital, killing at least one person, injuring several others, and prompting airport shutdowns and damage to residential buildings, according to Moscow officials and aviation authorities.

The drone raid, the largest against Moscow in months, comes as Ukraine prepares to present the United States with a plan for a partial ceasefire with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, reported that one person was killed and three others were wounded in the raid, which began at 4 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT). The attack damaged seven apartments in a residential building in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region, Vorobyov said.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated that air defenses destroyed a total of 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 91 of them intercepted over the Moscow region.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the incident as “a massive attack by enemy drones on Moscow,” which was repelled by Russian air defenses.

Sobyanin said drones were downed over Ramenskoye and the Domodedovo district of the Moscow region. Both districts are located about 40km (25 miles) to 50km (30 miles) south and southeast of the Kremlin.

Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, announced that flights were restricted in and out of four Moscow airports—Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky (south of the city), and Sheremetyevo (north of the city)—due to the drone attack.

Kyiv has not yet commented on the drone raid, which precedes a meeting between Ukrainian and US officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire deal with Russia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, will attend the talks. This will be the most senior meeting with Kyiv officials since a contentious White House meeting on February 28, during which Trump publicly criticized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Following Trump’s rebuke of Zelenskyy for perceived ingratitude over US military support, Washington has suspended aid to Ukraine, as well as intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery, in an effort to pressure Kyiv into negotiations.

Zelenskyy left the White House without signing an agreement demanded by Trump, which would have granted the US access to much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth as compensation for past weapons supplies.

The Ukrainian leader, who later sent a conciliatory letter to Trump, flew to the port city of Jeddah to meet Saudi rulers on Monday evening but delegated Tuesday’s talks to three top aides.

In a pre-talks meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine’s conditions for a permanent peace deal, including the release of prisoners and the return of children Kyiv accuses Moscow of abducting, according to a statement from the Ukrainian leader’s office on Monday.

The two leaders “discussed the potential mediation of Saudi Arabia in the release of military and civilian prisoners and the return of deported children,” the statement said.

“They also exchanged views on the formats of security guarantees and what they should entail for Ukraine to ensure that war does not return,” it added.