Ukraine’s deadly drone strikes on Moscow ‘entirely justified’, says Zelenskyy

Key topics:Ukraine launches major drone strike on Moscow regionZelenskyy says attacks justified after deadly Kyiv assaultRussia downs 556 drones amid escalating air war.By Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Max Seddon in Riga.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s latest long-range drone strikes that killed three in the Moscow region were “entirely justified” after Russia’s record aerial attack on Kyiv earlier this week.Russian authorities on Sunday said three people had died in the Moscow region and a fourth in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine after a massive drone attack that lasted through the night. Russia’s defence ministry said 556 drones were downed across the country, marking one of the largest Ukrainian barrages since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said on X. “This time, Ukrainian long-range sanctions reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war.”.Read more:.The Economist: Drones, deterrence, and defence - Rethinking war in the tech age.His post included video footage purporting to show Ukrainian drones slamming into the Moscow Oil Refinery — the capital region’s largest such facility.Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said structures on the grounds of the refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft, had been damaged during the Ukrainian attacks, which he claimed involved some 120 drones over a 24-hour period. 12 people were injured in the attack, he said.Zelenskyy had vowed retribution for the deadly Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s capital this week.On Wednesday, Russia pounded cities across Ukraine with dozens of missiles and more than 1,400 drones in a relentless 24-hour bombardment that killed 24 people in Kyiv in the largest combined air attack of the war. The cruise missile that struck an apartment building in the Ukrainian capital was produced with western components this year, the FT reported.After meeting with Ukrainian military and intelligence chiefs on Friday, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “defining targets for our next long-range sanctions against Russia”.“Ukraine will not allow any of the aggressor’s strikes that take the lives of our people to go unpunished,” he said. He added that Kyiv had grounds to retaliate “against Russia’s oil industry, military production and those directly responsible for committing war crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians”.On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader said 52 people were killed as a result of the attacks this week, while another 346 people were affected and injured, including 22 children. He said that Russian forces had launched more than 3,170 attack drones, more than 1,300 guided aerial bombs and 74 missiles of various types against Ukraine throughout the week.Ukraine’s Air Forces on Sunday reported 287 Russian drones, including jet-powered versions, attacked targets across the north, south and east of the country. It said that air defences managed to shoot down or divert 279 of the drones.Moscow area residents took to Telegram to report several explosions around the Russian capital along with air defences attempting to intercept the Ukrainian drones. Numerous videos published on the messaging platform showed what appeared to be Ukrainian drones descending on the Moscow region. Thick black smoke was seen rising from the location of the oil refinery in Moscow..Read more:.Putin’s long game: How Trump’s Iran focus hands Russia the upper hand in Ukraine - Marc Champion.“The concentration of Russian air defence in the Moscow region is the highest. But we are overcoming it,” Zelenskyy said.Some residential buildings were damaged, according to Russian authorities. All four airports in the Russian capital reported disruptions, and authorities said drone debris had fallen on the grounds of Sheremetyevo — Russia’s largest airport — but had not caused damage.The latest strikes come less than a week after US President Donald Trump brokered a three-day ceasefire so that Russian leader Vladimir Putin could hold his annual Victory Day parade on Red Square without disruption from Ukrainian drones.The parade took place without armoured vehicles for the first time since 2007, which Putin claimed was because his forces were focusing on defeating Ukraine.The attacks also come as peace talks stalled after Trump launched his war in Iran and due to Putin’s determination to take by force the swath of territory known as the Donbas that Zelenskyy has refused to concede..Read more:.The Economist: Thousands of Africans are fighting for Russia in Ukraine.Russia and Ukraine this spring have escalated air strikes against each other. Kyiv has focused on targeting Russia’s oil and gas sector in an attempt to disrupt Moscow’s energy revenues, paralyse its military logistics and weaken the economic engine driving its war effort.Russia pummelled Ukrainian energy infrastructure over winter, bringing Kyiv and much of the country to the brink of catastrophe. It has scaled up those attacks, launching massive combined missile and drone strikes while preparing for a summer ground offensive, according to Ukrainian intelligence..© 2026 The Financial Times Ltd..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.

Ukraine’s deadly drone strikes on Moscow ‘entirely justified’, says Zelenskyy

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