Ukraine and Russia trade major aerial attacks as deaths are reported on both sides

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Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least six people, while Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least five people in Ukraine and damaged civilian and industrial sites, according to officials and international news agencies.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and Russia exchanged large-scale aerial attacks on Sunday, with at least six people reported killed in Russia and at least five in Ukraine as drones and missiles struck locations including the Moscow region, Rostov, Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted and destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about 600 drones had been directed towards the Russian capital. The figures, which could not be independently verified, would make the operation one of Ukraine’s largest aerial attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The attacks came as Russia launched another wave of missiles and drones across Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said at least five people were killed and more than 10 injured, while fires and damage were reported in Kyiv and several other regions. The scale and geographical reach of Sunday’s exchanges underline the increasingly prominent role of long-range drones and missiles in a war approaching four and a half years, with both countries seeking to strike infrastructure and military-related targets far behind the front line.

Six reported killed in Ukrainian attacks on Russia

Five people were killed when more than 150 drones targeted three towns in Russia’s south-western Rostov region, according to regional governor Yury Slyusar. Several homes and a railway station were damaged, and a forest fire was started, according to the Associated Press.

An 83-year-old man was also killed when a Ukrainian drone struck a private home in the Moscow region, local governor Andrey Vorobyov said. Russian authorities said a warehouse belonging to online retail company Wildberries in Podolsk, south of Moscow, was also hit, causing a large fire. Images carried by international media showed thick smoke rising from the site. The first image supplied with this report shows the scale of the blaze, with a large column of dark smoke visible above buildings near the warehouse. Russian claims about the number of drones intercepted could not be independently verified. Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, including energy, logistics and military-industrial facilities.

Russia strikes Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities

Russia simultaneously carried out attacks across Ukraine.

The BBC reported that at least five people were killed and more than 10 injured, citing Ukrainian officials.

Two people in their 60s were killed when a house was destroyed in Zaporizhzhia, while another person was killed in Sumy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In Kryvyi Rih, authorities said a 44-year-old man who had been reported missing was found dead in rubble. Another person was killed and 14 workers at a steel plant were wounded, according to the BBC’s account of Ukrainian officials’ statements.

Kyiv was also struck.

Emergency crews responded to fires across the capital, including at a book market in the city’s Pochayna district. At least six people, including a child, were reported injured in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Reuters separately reported explosions in the capital and fires caused by falling debris during the overnight attack.

Kyiv book market badly damaged

The damage to Kyiv’s book market provided one of the clearest examples of the civilian impact of Sunday’s attacks. Photographs from the scene show burnt and water-damaged books scattered across the ground after firefighters battled the blaze.

The second photograph supplied to Nukunya shows books and other material lying amid debris at the market.

A 69-year-old woman identified by the BBC as Valentina said books scattered at the site had belonged to her husband’s market business.

Another trader, identified as vinyl-store owner Luba, told the BBC she had lost stock worth about 500,000 Ukrainian hryvnias. The third supplied photograph shows firefighters working against a large blaze at the book market following the Russian strike. Russia said its attacks targeted military-related infrastructure.

Moscow said it struck a FirePoint facility producing components for Ukraine’s Flamingo missiles and a factory making drone components. It also said it targeted a steelworks in Kryvyi Rih and a dry cargo vessel near Odesa that it claimed was carrying military equipment.

These Russian claims have not been independently verified.

Ukraine says 13 regions attacked in a week.

Zelenskyy said 13 Ukrainian regions had come under attack during the week, with Russia launching more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles.

He accused Moscow of attacking civilian infrastructure. Russia has intensified aerial attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks, while Kyiv has expanded its own campaign against targets inside Russia. The Associated Press reports that Ukraine’s long-range attacks have increasingly focused on Russian military industries and energy facilities.

The conflict’s aerial dimension has therefore expanded significantly beyond the immediate front line.

Wildberries warehouse hit near Moscow

One of Sunday’s most visible strikes inside Russia was against a Wildberries warehouse in Koledino, near Moscow. Images showed a large fire and heavy smoke above the facility. The BBC reported that Wildberries, one of Russia’s biggest online retailers, has been repeatedly targeted since July.

Kyiv has said its campaign against logistics infrastructure is intended to disrupt supplies used by Russian forces. However, the consequences can extend beyond military logistics because large commercial warehouses contain goods belonging to businesses and consumers and employ civilian workers. The Associated Press reported that Ukrainian attacks on Wildberries facilities have destroyed merchandise worth billions of dollars.

A Spanish NATO fighter shoots down a drone over Romania.

The consequences of the overnight attacks also extended into NATO territory.

A Spanish F-18 fighter deployed with NATO forces in Romania shot down a suspected Russian drone after it entered Romanian airspace from the direction of Moldova, Romania’s defence ministry said. The drone was detected approximately 24 kilometres north of Galați. The fighter established radar contact and was authorised to engage, shooting the aircraft down at about 05:01 local time.

Debris was believed to have fallen in an uninhabited area between Băleni and Cudalbi in Galați County. No casualties were initially reported. Romanian authorities were investigating the aircraft’s origin. Reuters reported that it was suspected to be Russian. The incident is particularly significant because Romania is a NATO member. It was the fourth unmanned aircraft shot down over Romanian territory in 2026, according to Reuters, highlighting the growing risk that the aerial war between Russia and Ukraine could spill across neighbouring borders.

Long-range warfare reshapes the conflict.

The latest attacks reflect a broader transformation of the war.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and continues to control approximately a fifth of Ukrainian territory, according to the BBC. With neither side achieving rapid territorial breakthroughs along much of the front, long-range drones and missiles have become increasingly important instruments for damaging logistics, industrial capacity, energy systems and military infrastructure.

Ukraine has developed a growing ability to strike hundreds of kilometres inside Russia. Russia, meanwhile, continues to deploy large numbers of drones, ballistic missiles and other weapons against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Sunday’s attacks demonstrate how that contest is increasingly being fought not only over trenches and front-line positions but also over factories, warehouses, transport infrastructure and cities far from the battlefield.

Why this story matters

The scale of the overnight attacks is significant because both Russia and Ukraine demonstrated an ability to project force far beyond the front line at roughly the same time.

If Russia’s figure of 822 intercepted Ukrainian drones is accurate, the operation would represent an exceptionally large Ukrainian aerial assault.

The strikes around Moscow also show that the Russian capital’s wider metropolitan region remains within reach of Ukraine’s expanding long-range drone programme.

Russia’s attacks on Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and other locations demonstrate the continuing vulnerability of Ukrainian cities despite years of investment in air defence.

The interception over Romania adds another dimension.

Repeated incursions into NATO airspace increase the risk that individual drones or missiles associated with the Russia-Ukraine war could trigger incidents involving alliance forces. NATO’s direct interception of such aircraft is therefore closely watched because of the alliance’s collective-defence commitments.

For civilians on both sides, meanwhile, the growing range and volume of aerial weapons mean that the geographical distinction between the front line and the rear is becoming increasingly blurred.

What happens next?

Both countries are likely to continue investing heavily in long-range strike capabilities and air defences.

Ukraine has increasingly presented attacks on Russian military, energy and logistics infrastructure as part of its strategy for weakening Moscow’s ability to sustain the invasion.

Russia says its strikes are directed at Ukrainian military and defence-industrial targets, while Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly reported damage to homes, businesses and other civilian infrastructure.

Independent verification remains essential because both governments release operational figures and assessments during an active conflict that cannot always be independently confirmed.

The latest exchange nevertheless provides clear evidence that aerial warfare is playing an increasingly central role in the conflict, with consequences extending from Kyiv and Moscow to NATO’s eastern frontier.