Ukraine drone attack kills at least four in Russia after Zelensky vows response

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv drone attack kills at least four in Russia after Zelensky vows response

Ukraine’s drone attack comes after Russian missile strikes killed dozens of people in Kyiv last week

At least four people were killed, and a dozen were injured, after a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia overnight, local officials said on Sunday.

Three people were killed in a strike on the Moscow region, and a fourth was killed in the Belgorod region bordering northeastern Ukraine, local authorities said.

Russia's defence ministry said by midday more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country in the past 24 hours.

The drone attacks come after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a response to a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv on Friday that killed 24, including three children.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 120 drones had been shot down over Moscow in the last 24 hours, which left three houses ⁠damaged.

Overall, 556 drones had been ‌downed over the country overnight, the mayor said.

A woman died when a home was hit in the city of Khimki, north of Moscow, and two men ‌died in the ⁠village of Pogorelki in the ⁠Mytishchi district, according to Moscow governor Andrei Vorobyov.

This comes after Russia launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles in attacks across Ukraine this week, over two consecutive days, killing dozens of people, Ukrainian officials said.

Zelensky said on Friday that he had instructed Ukraine's military to prepare responses to the attack.

The Ukrainian president also said Russia is planning to target around two dozen "decision-making centres”, including government buildings and military command posts.

"They have been nursing this plan for a long time, and now, after Iran, have become active again – trying to locate us and track our movements," he said.

Rebecca Thomas17 May 2026 14:30

Indian worker among those killed in Moscow drone strikes, embassy says

One Indian worker lost his life and three others were injured in a drone attack in the Moscow region on Sunday, the Indian embassy in Russia said in a post on social media site, X.

Embassy ‌officials have visited the ⁠location, met the injured workers in the hospital, and are working with ‌local authorities to ​provide ‌necessary assistance ⁠to the ⁠workers, the ‌statement added.

Rebecca Thomas17 May 2026 14:21

Zelenskyy says response to Russia is "entirely justified"

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his responses to Russia’s “prolongation” of war are “ entirely justified” as Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Moscow.

Posting on social media site X, he said: “Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified. This time, Ukrainian long-range sanctions reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war. Ukrainian drone and missile manufacturers continue their work. I am grateful to the Security Service of Ukraine and all the Defense Forces of Ukraine for their precision...”

Rebecca Thomas17 May 2026 14:00

Young Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say

Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov, reports The Associated Press.

The pair were among the 24 people killed Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes.

On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.“

She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych told The Associated Press.

Rebecca Thomas17 May 2026 13:30

Zelensky releases footage of drone strikes in Russia

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky released footage of drone strikes deep in Russian territories, including one on an aircraft, calling the attack a “justified response”.

“Most of the operations are still ongoing, so the video captures only a portion of our results,” Zelensky said in a post on X.

“These are our entirely justified responses to what the Russians are doing. We will continue to increase both the range and scale of these sanctions,” he said.

Vishwam Sankaran17 May 2026 13:00

What we know about latest Ukrainian strikes on Russia

At least four people died in one of the largest Ukrainian overnight attacks against Russia since the start of the war, according to Russian local authorities.

A woman was killed after a drone hit her home in Khimki, a city just northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the village of Pogorelki 10 km (6 miles) north of the capital, according to local Governor Andrei Vorobyev. In social media updates, Vorobyev said Ukrainian drones had also damaged unspecified “infrastructure” and several high-rises.

In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded in the nighttime strike, mostly near the entrance to the city’s oil refinery, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported.

Sobyanin reported the “technology” of the refinery has not been damaged.

Russian defenses shot down 81 drones headed for Moscow overnight, state agency Tass reported, citing Sobyanin, marking one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

One man was also killed as a drone struck a lorry in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, according to local authorities. Russian air defenses destroyed a total of 556 drones over Russia, the country’s defense ministry said.

Rebecca Thomas17 May 2026 12:00

In pictures: Ukraine's overnight drone attack on Moscow

Vishwam Sankaran17 May 2026 12:00

Kremlin simplifies citizenship access for people in Transnistria

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the procedure for Transnistria residents to acquire Russian citizenship.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the move as Russia's way of staking a claim to Moldovian region.

“It means not only that Russia is looking for new soldiers in this way – because citizenship also entails military obligation – it is also Russia's way of staking a claim to Transnistria’s territory,” Zelensky said in a post on X.

Vishwam Sankaran17 May 2026 11:00

In video: Ukraine vows retribution after overnight Russian drone attack

Vishwam Sankaran17 May 2026 10:00

Ukraine blames Belarus for giving air corridors for Russian drones

Ukrainian unmanned systems forces major Robert Brovdi accused Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko of actively providing safe air corridors for Russian Shahed kamikaze drones targeting Ukraine.

Brovdi dismissed Lukashenko’s claims of neutrality, arguing that Shahed drones were crossing into Ukraine via Belarusian airspace, citing Ukrainian tracking systems records.

He stressed that Belarus remains directly complicit in air campaigns targeting Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure, despite the country projecting diplomatic neutrality.

“Minsk Gauleiter Lukashesku! We record the flight of every single Shahed that, taking advantage of the corridors of Belarus, heads to Ukraine, every single one of your military-tinted frictions and vacillations,” Brovdi said in a Facebook post, adding that the Belarusian dictator was "directly involved in the murder of civilian Ukrainians".

Vishwam Sankaran17 May 2026 09:00