Ukraine Launches Hundreds of Drones into Russia Killing at Least Six
Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday in one of Kyiv’s largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least six people according to Russian officials, as Russia strikes continued in parallel. [3] Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported destroying 822 Ukrainian drones overnight, with some 600 drones detected heading toward Moscow. [1]
Overview of Ukrainian Drone Assault
Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday in one of Kyiv’s largest aerial attacks of the war. [1] Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that it had destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. [3] Some 600 drones were detected headed toward the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, with a third of those destroyed over the Moscow region itself. [3] Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russia this year, with long-range missiles and swarms of drones targeting military industries and energy facilities. [3] Those attacks have brought the war home to the Russian public nearly 4½ years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [3]
Casualties and Damage in Russia
An 83-year-old man was killed after a Ukrainian drone hit a private home in the Moscow region, local Gov. Andrey Vorobyov said. [3] He also confirmed that a Ukrainian attack had sparked a blaze at a Wildberries warehouse in the town of Podolsk. [3] A drone attack targeted three towns in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, killing five people, local Gov. Yury Slyusar said. [3] The attack, with more than 150 drones, damaged several homes and a railway station and sparked a forest fire. [3] In Russia, three people were injured in a Ukrainian strike, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. [4] He said roughly a third of the drones Ukraine launched at the capital had been destroyed. [4] A Wildberries warehouse in Koledino, 25km from the centre of Moscow, was hit in the attack, Sobyanin said. [4] Videos showed a fire and a large plume of smoke over the warehouse. [4] Wildberries, known as Russia's version of Amazon, has been repeatedly targeted since July. [4]
Russian officials report destruction of Ukrainian drones over Moscow during large-scale overnight attack. — Source: cnn
Russian Retaliatory Strikes on Ukraine
Russian strikes kill 5 in Ukraine. [3] A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih killed two people and wounded 14 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media Sunday. [3] He also said that one more person had been killed in the city of Sumy. [3] Elsewhere, a man and a woman died when their home was hit by a Russian strike in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, said Ivan Fedorov, the head of the local military administration. [3] Russian attacks also sparked fires throughout the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, wounding six people. [3] A blaze took hold at one of the city’s largest book markets, tearing through kiosks huddled close to the Pochaina metro station. [3] At least three people have been killed and more than 10 injured in Ukraine in the latest wave of Russian strikes, officials have said. [4] Firefighters are tackling a fire that started overnight at a market in the capital, Kyiv, after it was hit by Russian missiles and drones. [4] Ukraine said it shot down three Russian missiles and nearly 100 drones. [4] In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional head Ivan Fedorov said two people were killed when a Russian guided aerial bomb destroyed a house. [4] Officials in Dnipropotrovsk also reported one person killed and 14 injured. [4] Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih and several military-industrial sites in Kyiv, including a manufacturing facility for Ukraine’s Flamingo missiles. [3]
Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Military Targets
On the night of 15-16 August, Ukraine's defence forces struck an area where a Russian missile unit was concentrated in occupied Crimea, a railway bridge in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Russian storage facilities in Donetsk Oblast. [5] An area where a Russian missile unit was concentrated was struck near Rezervne in temporarily occupied Crimea. [5] The defence forces also struck a railway bridge near Svitlodolynske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast which, according to the General Staff, Russian forces used for military logistics and the movement of personnel. [5] In addition, Russian logistics and ammunition storage facilities were hit in Karlivka, Donetsk Oblast. [5] The Ukrainian Navy struck positions of Russia's Bastion coastal defence missile system in Crimea, which Russia uses to launch Oniks and Zircon missiles. [5]
Ukrainian drones fly toward Moscow during one of Kyiv’s largest aerial attacks on Russia. — Source: apnews
NATO Involvement After Drone Incursion
Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said Sunday that a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace. [3] The drone’s entry into the NATO member’s airspace was detected by surveillance systems at 4:44 a.m., the ministry said, about 24 kilometers north of the eastern city of Galati near the border with neighboring Moldova. [3] A Spanish F-18 aircraft that was performing air policing duties “made radar contact with the target and received engagement approval,” the ministry said. [3] “The drone was safely shot down by the F-18 aircraft at 05:01.” [3] The ministry later said that drone debris was reported in the Black Sea around 10 a.m. on Sunday, about 1.5 kilometers from the coastal city of Constanta. [3] The Romanian defence ministry said a Spanish fighter jet shot down a drone that had breached its airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova. [4] The drone entered from Moldova and was intercepted by an F-18 deployed on Nato duties at 05:01 local time on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement. [4] Debris fell in an unpopulated area of the Galati region, near the Ukrainian border, it added. [4] The incident comes weeks after Romanian pilots shot down three drones over three days as Russia intensified attacks against Ukraine near the border. [3] Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Romania has reported dozens of drone incidents, including some that have crashed and exploded on its territory. [3]
Broader Context of Aerial Campaign
Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russia this year, with long-range missiles and swarms of drones targeting military industries and energy facilities. [3] It has also increasingly pummeled giant Wildberries depots, burning billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise belonging to the Russian online retail giant. [3] Those attacks have brought the war home to the Russian public nearly 4½ years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [3] Meanwhile, Ukraine also came under Russian attack, with drone strikes destroying homes and torching Kyiv’s landmark book market. [3] Russia has intensified aerial attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks, while Kyiv has stepped up its targeting of Russian logistics hubs, with the aim of disrupting military supplies. [4] Air-raid sirens have sounded four times since Saturday night in Kyiv. [4] At least six people, including a child, were reportedly injured, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. [4]
What to watch next: The domestically produced Flamingo missiles are increasingly key to Ukraine’s long-range attacks on Russia, with Zelenskyy announcing Saturday that Kyiv had used the weapons to attack a rocket research and production center in Samara approximately 900 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. [3]
