Massive Ukrainian drone attack targets multiple Russian oblasts, smoke reported near Moscow
Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
A large-scale overnight drone attack on Oct. 27 targeted multiple regions of western Russia, including the Moscow metropolitan area, according to Russian officials.
In Moscow oblast, residents reported explosions in several districts, including the capital itself. Photos published by eyewitnesses and geolocated by the Russian Telegram channel Astra show smoke rising in the Kommunarka area, part of Moscow’s Novomoskovsky Administrative Okrug. The images suggest the smoke originated from a forested area near a local road.
The Russian Defense Ministry later said that a total of 193 drones were intercepted overnight, including 40 over Moscow Oblast. The ministry said that 34 of those drones were bound for the capital.
In Kursk region, a fire broke out near a power substation in the city of Rylsk after what local authorities claimed was a Ukrainian drone strike.
"As a result of the UAV attack, outbuildings caught fire near a house located close to the substation. Fire brigades extinguished the blaze," said Kursk region governor Alexander Khinshtein.
Dozens of drones targeted the city of Moscow, according to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Sobyanin began reporting attacks on the Russian capital on the evening of Oct. 26 and posted updated throughout the night. Russian forces reportedly shot down 34 Ukrainian drones flying toward Moscow during the attack, he said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports temporarily suspended operations in response to the drone threat.
Explosions have been reported in multiple parts of the city and the surrounding region, including the Kommunarka district, according to Russian Telegram channels. No casualties have been reported. Emergency services have been dispatched to all crash sites, Sobyanin said.
A fire broke out at on oil depot in Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast, on the evening of Oct. 26, the Russian Telegram news channel Astra reported, citing eyewitness footage. The local administration did not disclose the cause of the fire and said the blaze had already been extinguished.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the reported strikes.
Kyiv regularly uses long-range drones to target military and industrial targets in Russia, including oil refineries, weapons factories, and ammunition depots. Ukraine allegedly targeted Moscow with 34 drones in a previous overnight strike on Sept. 22.
Russia regularly launches large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Over the past two nights, mass attacks against Kyiv have killed five people and left dozens injured.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 26 that Russia has attacked Ukraine with nearly 1,200 strike drones and 50 missiles — primarily ballistic missiles — in the past week alone.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
