Ukraine war latest: Dozens of Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow ahead of Victory Day parade
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Key developments on May 8:
- Dozens of Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow ahead of Victory Day parade
- Russia urgently expanding anti-drone forces, boosting drone production amid surge in Ukrainian strikes, Syrskyi says
- Ukraine strikes oil refinery in Russia's Perm for 3rd time in 2 weeks, SBU says
- Massive forest fire sparked by Russian strikes in Ukraine's north doubles in size, drifts toward Russia
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Ukraine's military launched dozens of drones towards the Russian capital throughout the night on May 8, just one day before Moscow is set to stage its annual Victory Day military parade.
Sobyanin reported the first three downed drones approaching Moscow just after midnight, with a total of 26 downed drones throughout the night. Temporary flight restrictions were introduced at Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports amid the reports of drones.
No information was immediately available as to whether any damage was sustained as a result of the attack. Sobyanin said that emergency crews are working in the areas of the downed drones.
The Kyiv Independent cannot verify claims made by Russian officials.
The attack come one day before Russia observes Victory Day on May 9, which celebrates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia typically uses the occasion to display its military might with large-scale parades in Moscow and demonstrations across the country. In recent years, the celebrations have been an opportunity to spread propaganda justifying Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine.
This year, however, Russia's celebrations have been scaled back — in part due to Ukraine's increased long-range strike capabilities. The Kremlin said it will not display military equipment at this year's event.
The absence of tanks and other heavy equipment — typically a centerpiece of the parade — marks a notable shift for an event where military hardware is ordinarily put on full display.
Russia urgently expanding anti-drone forces, boosting drone production amid surge in Ukrainian strikes, Syrskyi says
Russia is urgently expanding its anti-drone forces and strengthening air defense coverage around Moscow, while also increasing drone production, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 8, citing Ukrainian military intelligence assessments.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory in recent weeks, including repeated attacks on oil infrastructure and drone raids targeting Moscow ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations. The latest strikes have continued despite the Kremlin’s self-proclaimed ceasefire, which Kyiv said Russian forces had immediately violated.
According to Syrskyi, Russia is deploying an additional four regiments, 24 battalions, and 162 batteries to counter Ukrainian strike drones while also strengthening layered air defense coverage around Moscow and Krasnodar Krai.
"Russia is effectively scaling up its unmanned systems forces by copying Ukrainian solutions – technical, tactical, and organizational," Syrskyi said in a statement published on social media.
Syrslyi added that Russian forces are also increasing the deployment of strike drones equipped with turbojet engines and expanding the use of electronic warfare systems in border regions.
Russia plans to produce 7.3 million FPV (first-person-view) drones and 7.8 million combat unmanned aerial vehicle parts in 2026, Syrskyi said.
Despite Russia's growing drone capabilities, Syrskyi argued that Ukraine continues to maintain the initiative in drone warfare.
"Starting from December, for the fifth consecutive month, Ukraine's unmanned systems units alone have neutralized more occupiers than Russia manages to mobilize into its army," Syrskyi said.
Ukrainian drone systems carried out nearly 357,000 combat missions in April and struck more than 160,700 verified targets, 2% more than in March, according to Syrskyi.
Ukraine also suppressed more than 7,700 Russian drone operator positions during the month, while its middle strike systems operating at ranges of 20 to 250 kilometers (12 to 155 miles) struck 424 Russian targets in April, according to Syrskyi.
The commander-in-chief added that ground robotic systems are playing an increasingly important role on the battlefield, including evacuating wounded soldiers, laying mines, and carrying out more than 60% of logistical transportation tasks for troops.
The statement comes ahead of Russia's annual Victory Day parade on May 9, which in recent years has become both a symbolic showcase of Moscow's military power and a way to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian authorities reported multiple Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and other regions overnight on May 8, prompting temporary flight restrictions at several airports ahead of the celebrations.
Ukraine strikes oil refinery in Russia's Perm for 3rd time in 2 weeks, SBU says
The "Alpha" Special Operations Center of the Security Service of Ukraine struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Perm for the third time in two weeks, the agency said on May 8.
Ukrainian drones previously attacked local oil infrastructure overnight on April 29-30.
According to the SBU, on May 8 drones targeted the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery and the Perm linear production dispatch station, both located more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
"This refinery is one of the largest oil refining plants in Russia, supplying fuel both to the civilian sector and to the needs of the Russian army," the SBU said.
According to the agency, a fire broke out at one of the refinery's crude oil processing units following the attack.
The Perm oil pumping station, operated by Russian state pipeline company Transneft, was also struck, the SBU said, adding that one of the facility's oil reservoirs was hit.
The station serves as a strategic hub in Russia's oil transportation network, distributing oil in four directions, including toward the Perm refinery.
The SBU said strikes against such facilities are intended to disrupt Russia's oil processing and transportation capabilities, complicate military logistics, and force Moscow to divert resources toward repairing critical infrastructure deep inside the country.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these claims.
Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the reported attack.
Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian oil infrastructure as part of its broader deep-strike campaign aimed at increasing the economic and logistical costs of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones also struck an oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai and a defense technology company involved in the production of combat electronics and drone components overnight on May 8, according to Russian regional authorities and local Telegram channels.
Massive forest fire sparked by Russian strikes in Ukraine's north doubles in size, drifts toward Russia
A massive forest fire sparked by Russian attacks near the Ukraine–Russia border in Chernihiv Oblast has nearly doubled in size over the past day, with the fire front now moving toward Russian territory, Ukraine's state forestry enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" said on May 8
The fire, previously estimated at around 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) on May 7, has now expanded to about 4,300 hectares (10,600 acres).
Extinguishing the fire remains "almost impossible," as it lies within a 5-kilometer (3-mile) border zone with Russia, where its FPV (first-person-view) drones "hunt anything that moves," destroying firefighting equipment operating near the border, "Forests of Ukraine" said on May 8.
Forestry workers are instead focusing on preventing the blaze from spreading deeper into Ukrainian territory by creating additional mineralized firebreak strips between forest areas, along roads, and near settlements, the agency added.
Daryna Tatarenko, a communications officer for the Northern Forest Office, a branch of the state forestry service "Forests of Ukraine," told the Kyiv Independent on May 7 that a blaze of around 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) already constituted an "emergency situation."
Tatarenko said that forestry workers were unable to assess whether the area has suffered repeated Russian attacks because they do not have full access to the territory.
Nina Lutsenko, a State Emergency Service spokesperson, also told the Kyiv Independent on May 7 that emergency crews and forestry workers cannot access the area, as it lies within a 5-kilometer (3-mile) border zone where Russian FPV drones are continuously operating.
"We cannot reduce the area already affected, but we are trying to prevent the fire from spreading further," she said.
Russian attacks on May 5 caused the fire, the Northern Forest Office said.
On May 4, the forestry office reported nine separate forest fires in Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts caused by falling Russian drones over a three-day period.
According to the forestry office, 16.3 hectares (40 acres) of forest were destroyed in the earlier fires, including 6.9 hectares (17 acres) in the Vertiivske forestry area in Chernihiv Oblast, which the office at the time described as Ukraine’s largest forest fire this year.
