Ukrainian forces launched one of their largest drone attacks on Russian territory and illegally annexed Crimea, with Russian air defences claiming to intercept 660 unmanned aerial vehicles across 12 regions, the Black Sea, and the Azov Sea during a major overnight assault on Friday.
This significant barrage marks one of the most extensive drone operations targeting Russian regions and the occupied peninsula since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine over four years ago.
Kyiv has increasingly deployed long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia, focusing on critical oil production and energy facilities.
Western officials and analysts suggest this strategy aims to cripple Russian fuel and military supplies, thereby hindering Moscow’s battlefield operations and intensifying pressure on President Vladimir Putin.
The extensive drone assault followed remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X, where he announced an order for a “40-day influence operation.”
This is widely interpreted as a planned escalation of attacks, intended to “compel [Russia] to end the war” after a year of unsuccessful US-led peace initiatives.
A Russian chemical plant is reportedly hit
In the Tula region just south of Moscow, a private house was damaged by the attack and a woman was wounded, Tula Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said in an online statement as reports of damage caused by the attack began to emerge.
He also said a power line was damaged and an unspecified industrial facility in the city of Novomoskovsk.
Russian independent online outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk were attacked and caught fire. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the report, and there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported that 47 Ukrainian drones were downed as they flew toward the Russian capital. He did not report any casualties or damage.
Ukraine says 2 civilians were killed in Russian attacks
Two people were killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks on the northeastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Friday.
Russian forces struck the city of Kharkiv and 16 other settlements across the region using guided aerial bombs and drones of various types, Syniehubov said.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces overnight stopped 174 of 189 Russian drones, the Ukrainian air force said. However, four of seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles that were fired got through air defenses and struck various locations, it said.
