Ukraine Launches Over 400 Drones at Moscow, Strikes Black Sea Ships Amid Escalating Conflict

Ukraine launched over 400 drones toward Moscow overnight on Monday, reportedly hitting an oil depot and a logistics centre.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces also struck two shadow fleet tankers and four cargo ships in the Black Sea.

The attacks followed a weekend of escalating exchanges between the two sides, with Russia targeting Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Sunday and Ukraine hitting warehouses belonging to one of Russia's largest online marketplaces—Wildberries—outside of Moscow on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian military struck two Wildberries warehouses. Local media reported that another fire was reported at a warehouse belonging to the Russian online retailer in Ukraine's latest attack.

Out of the 400 Ukrainian drones launched, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said most were downed away from the capital and 85 were intercepted near Moscow.

Ten people, including a child, were wounded and several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged, the head of the region around Moscow Andrei Vorobyov reported.

Vorobyov listed damage in the towns of Podolsk, Domodedovo and Odintsovo.

A day earlier, Russia launched a large-scale ballistic missile attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing one person and injuring 16 others. In recent weeks, Moscow has intensified its use of ballistic missiles.

“Russian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month,” the Institute for the Study of War said on Sunday.

“Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles,” it added.

According to Ukraine's air force, Russia launched 94 long-range strike drones at Ukraine overnight, of which Ukrainian air defences jammed or intercepted 81. Nine drones and a missile caused damage at nine locations.

The growing escalation indicates an agreement between the two sides remains distant, but Kyiv has said its strikes on the Russian capital are intended to damage Russia's offensive capabilities and pressure the Kremlin to negotiate.

"We are justly responding to every Russian strike on our cities and communities," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X. "This war must be ended, and that is possible only by intensifying pressure on the sole cause of this war".

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said he would hold "key talks" on Monday as he grapples with a domestic political crisis after announcing a cabinet reshuffle last week.

What began as anger over the dismissal of the reformist defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has swelled into public outrage over Zelenskyy's management of the military, and sparked protests demanding radical changes at the top command.