Ukraine launched 637 drones at Moscow overnight in one of the largest long-range aerial assaults of the four-and-a-half-year conflict, according to city officials. The strikes ignited a massive retail warehouse south of the capital, capping a dramatic escalation in Kyiv’s campaign to bring the war home to the Russian public.
The barrage, which began Tuesday evening and continued into Wednesday morning, targeted the massive logistics center outside Moscow as part of an expanding deep-strike operation. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 637 drones were launched at the capital region in an attack continuing into Wednesday morning. Russian officials stated that air defenses shot down at least 180 drones in the Moscow region, while more than 150 others were intercepted across the wider country.
Wildberries Logistics Depots Hammered Across Russia
The overnight raid heavily impacted a high-rise building and a warehouse operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Flames and dark smoke billowed from the warehouse located about 45 kilometers south of Moscow, leaving the facility ablaze the following morning.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that recent weeks have seen an intense escalation targeting the online retailer’s infrastructure. Kyiv’s forces have knocked out seven of the company’s ten largest logistics facilities, burning merchandise valued in the billions of dollars.
Inside Ukraine’s 413th Raid Unmanned Systems Regiment
Hundreds of miles from the smoke over Moscow, drone crews belonging to the Ukrainian 413th “Raid” Unmanned Systems Regiment prepare continuously for subsequent launches. Operating from concealed positions in southern Ukrainian sunflower fields, soldiers assemble domestic FP-1 long-range attack drones designed to travel over a thousand miles into enemy territory.
Unit commander Yevhen Karas, a 38-year-old philosophy major who volunteered for the front on February 24, 2022, explained that the campaign aims to impose tangible economic and psychological costs on the Russian population. Before launching a batch of explosives-laden aircraft, Karas inscribed a verse onto a fuselage with a black marker: Moscow burns under the sky, red flame rises so warm and high, dark smoke moves above the town, fire lights the night all around.
Karas commands a diverse roster of volunteers that includes a former opera singer, a cellist, a computer programmer, and a rapper. Their objective, according to military leadership, is to stretch Russian air defenses thin, disrupt regional airports, create fuel shortages, and ultimately force the Kremlin toward a negotiated peace.
Domestic Production and Domestic Hardware Scaling Up
The vast majority of the long-range uncrewed systems deployed by Kyiv are manufactured domestically. Fire Point, a primary defense manufacturer run by 34-year-old architect Iryna Terekh, builds roughly 60% of the country’s strike drones by hand in facilities staffed by hundreds of workers.
Terekh noted that her company is also developing ballistic missiles slated for operational deployment against Russian targets by the end of the year, emphasizing that the only thing that they understand, the only language that they understood, is the language of power
regarding Moscow’s leadership.
Moscow Warns London Over British-Supplied Hardware
As the drone campaign intensifies, diplomatic friction has escalated over the provenance of the weaponry. Russian authorities announced that debris recovered from downed aircraft confirmed the use of British-manufactured drones in deep-territory strikes.
The Russian embassy in London issued a sharp condemnation, stating that London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis while professing a desire for peace. Moscow warned that deeper involvement in supporting Kyiv’s military operations would carry a corresponding price.
In April, the United Kingdom announced its largest-ever drone package for Ukraine, pledging to supply 120,000 units this year, including long-range strike systems. Defending the shipments, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Sky News that the hardware enables Ukraine to defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s invasion. A UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson affirmed that Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.
Retaliatory Strikes in Kharkiv and Kyiv’s Vow to Respond
The drone assault on Moscow unfolded alongside heavy kinetic exchanges on the ground. A separate Russian strike on the town of Pechenihy in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region resulted in 10 civilian deaths.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed an immediate retaliation, writing on social media that we will definitely respond to this Russian strike. Zelenskyy urged international allies to complement Ukraine’s military actions with increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Moscow as the conflict grinds past its fourth year.
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