A wave of dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian capital and a number of border and inland regions in the early hours of the day. According to an official report from the Russian Defense Ministry, air defense forces managed to neutralize a total of 45 fixed UAVs during the midnight offensive. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed on his official web channel that the wave was aimed directly at the metropolis, initially shooting down 12 drones, and later the air defense system reflected another 11 devices in the immediate vicinity of the city's administrative borders.
Due to the imminent threat, the Federal Air Transport Agency “Rosaviatsia“ imposed temporary airspace restrictions, temporarily suspending landings and takeoffs at the international airports “Vnukovo“, “Domodedovo“ and “Zhukovsky“. Authorities in the Moscow region have declared an official “drone danger“ regime and urged citizens not to leave their homes and to seek safe shelter in buildings.
Chronology of the attack on Moscow and damage
The attack began shortly before sunrise on July 28, 2026. According to initial data from emergency services, cited in Russian media such as Interfax (interfax.ru), debris from the destroyed aircraft fell outside densely populated residential areas. Emergency and fire teams are working at the scene of the incidents, and at this time there are no reports of serious material damage to critical infrastructure or civilian casualties in the capital region.
This is another large-scale operation in the so-called “deep strike“ campaign of Kiev, which aims to transfer the economic and psychological burden of the war to Russian territory. A few days ago, similar swarms of drones damaged logistics centers and oil depots in the Moscow region.
Are there attacks on other Russian regions?
In addition to Moscow, a total of 11 other Russian regions have come under massive shelling. Sources on the ground, cited by independent media outlets such as Fontanka (fontanka.ru) and Ukrainska Pravda (pravda.com.ua), report the activation of anti-aircraft systems in the following areas:
- Belgorod and Kursk Region – traditional border targets, where artillery and air pressure remains highest.
- Leningrad and Voronezh Region – Localized fires in industrial warehouses caused by falling drone parts are reported.
- Rostov Oblast and Crimea – The attacks there are mainly aimed at oil export terminals, railway junctions and electrical substations supporting the logistics of the Russian army.
- Udmurtia and regions in the Volga region – Located at a great distance from the front, these areas also became targets of attacks on refineries and dual-use plants.
According to international observers, including analyses by Al-Jazeera (aljazeera.com), civilian and material casualties in Russian border cities are set to increase dramatically in the summer of 2026 due to the widespread use of cheap but high-tech, long-range autonomous drones.