Two Killed in Drone Attack on Moscow Region, Russia Claims

At least two people were killed and six injured in a drone attack on the Moscow region overnight, Russia's regional governor, Andrei Vorobyev, stated Sunday. Vorobyev reported that 249 drones were shot down and that fires occurred in several residential buildings and a warehouse.

In Moscow, an oil refinery was damaged, and flight restrictions were implemented at two airports serving the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin indicated that a drone struck a building near a Moscow boulevard and damaged a facility at an oil refinery. He earlier reported that 152 drones heading for Moscow had been shot down.

Sheremetyevo, Moscow's largest airport, announced temporary restrictions, while Vnukovo airport halted all arrivals and departures. Videos circulating on social media, unverified by the BBC, purportedly show explosions in the night sky over the Moscow region and a warehouse fire.

Governor Vorobyev specified that a 44-year-old woman died in Sofyino after a drone hit a three-story residential building, with five others, including two children, injured. In the Orekhovo-Zuevo district, an elderly man died when his private house was struck.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official reported that seven people, including two children, were killed in Russian attacks in the Kyiv and Sumy regions on Saturday. In the city of Fastiv, in the Kyiv region, a mother and her two young children died when a Russian drone hit their car, according to Kyiv regional head Tymur Tkachenko. Several private houses were also damaged. In the northeastern Sumy region, four people were killed when a Russian drone struck their vehicle, local official Oleh Hryhorov stated.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and both countries have recently intensified strikes targeting energy-generating and transport facilities, as well as major logistics hubs.