News Feed

Ukraine attacks Moscow with drones for 3rd straight night, Russian official says

2 min read
Ukraine attacks Moscow with drones for 3rd straight night, Russian official says
Illustrative photo: A Russian police officer guards the Red Square near the Kremlin on June 24, 2023 in Moscow, Russia (Contributor/Getty Images)

Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted Moscow overnight on July 19, marking the third night in a row the Russian capital has come under fire.

Russian air defense units intercepted 13 drones flying towards Moscow in under two hours, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported at around 1:46 a.m. local time. No information has been reported regarding casualties or damage.

According to Russian Telegram news channels, eyewitnesses said some of the drones were shot down near Zelenograd, a satellite city 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of central Moscow.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports.

The alleged attack comes after two nights of reported drone strikes on Moscow. A wave of drone attacks hit Russia overnight on July 17, with strikes reported in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Belgorod, Voronezh, and other regions.

Drones again targeted Moscow on July 18, with blasts heard near Zvenigorod, Istra, and Zelenograd, according to Sobyanin.

Kyiv rarely comments on reports of drone strikes in Russia, though Ukraine regularly launches attacks against military and industrial facilities on Russian territory.

The reported strikes on Moscow come after U.S. President Donald Trump offered the Kremlin 50 days to make a peace deal or face "severe tariffs" from Washington. Before the announcement, Trump reportedly asked President Volodymyr Zelensky during a June phone call if Ukraine was capable of attacking Moscow.

Zelensky allegedly replied that such an attack would be possible if the U.S. supplied the necessary weapons.

After the Financial Times (FT) reported the comments, Trump told the press that Zelensky should not target Moscow and that the U.S. was not planning to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles.


Thanks for reading this article and staying informed. The Kyiv Independent operates without a wealthy owner or a paywall, relying solely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Consider joining our community today.

Avatar
Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

Read more
News Feed
Video

The Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Denisova and Kateryna Hodunova speak with military analyst Mykola Bielieskov and opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun about the conflict between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, why Zelensky sided with Syrskyi, and what the shake-up could mean for Ukraine’s military, domestic politics, and war against Russia.

 (Updated:  )

According to the report, Oleksiy Sukhachov’s brother Oleksandr has bought 143 apartments at a price far below their market value, with an apartment being valued at the price of a smartphone. The construction of the apartment buildings involved has been investigated by Oleksiy Sukhachov’s State Investigation Bureau, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest.

Show More