By Anastasiia Malenko and Matthew Luxmoore
KYIV -- Ukraine launched its biggest strikes on Moscow in more than a year, with dozens of drones attacking Russia's capital in an audacious raid.
The Sunday strikes, which Russia said killed three civilians, demonstrate Kyiv's growing ability to launch long-range strikes as it seeks to damage the Kremlin's war and oil industries and bring the war home to Russians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian attack was an "entirely justified" response to Russia's continued pursuit of its four-year invasion and its own massive aerial attacks on Ukraine.
"This time, Ukrainian long-range sanctions reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: Their state must end its war," Zelensky wrote in a post on X, sharing videos of large plumes of black smoke rising over a road and drones flying with gunfire ringing out.
Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said on Sunday that it struck a military enterprise, a Moscow oil refinery and two oil pumping stations in the Moscow region in a joint operation with the Ukrainian military. "These strikes demonstrate that even the most heavily defended Moscow region is not safe," the SBU said.
The Russian defense ministry reported intercepting and destroying 628 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions and the Ukrainian territories it occupies during attacks, which started late Saturday evening and continued until the middle of the day on Sunday.
The attacks killed three people in the Moscow region and injured 18 more, including 12 in the capital, according to Russia's state-owned news agency TASS. The news agency said the attacks damaged construction sites, residential buildings and infrastructure.
The Indian Embassy in Russia said that one Indian worker was killed and three more were among those injured in a drone attack on the Moscow region.
Drone debris also fell on the territory of the Sheremetyevo International Airport without damaging any facilities, the airport said in a post on Telegram.
The country's transportation ministry reported delays to over 32 flights after temporary restrictions were placed overnight and in the early morning hours for safety reasons. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 120 drones targeting the city were shot down over the past day.
Earlier this week, Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles in a span of 24 hours in a large-scale attack on Ukraine following a brief cease-fire that coincided with Victory Day in Russia. In the aftermath of the missile strike -- which killed 24 people, including three children, in a residential building in Kyiv -- Zelensky said there must be "a just response to all these strikes."
Ukraine's far-reaching attacks into Russia have highlighted the country's ability to bring the war home to the Russian population across the country and keep up the strikes seeking to make a dent in the Kremlin's war chest by striking oil infrastructure. The campaign has wreaked havoc at Russian oil refineries and terminals but didn't prevent Moscow from profiting from the rising energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East this spring.
Zelensky said the long-range campaign has had a significant impact in how the war is perceived worldwide, including in conversations with partners.
"The Russians need to focus on their own refineries, their own oil facilities, and their own businesses, rather than on how to disrupt the lives of other nations," Zelensky said in a Sunday evening address, lauding the successful strikes. "The war is, quite predictably, returning to its 'home port.'"
Write to Matthew Luxmoore at matthew.luxmoore@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 17, 2026 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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