Moscow accuses Kyiv of launching massive drone attack on Russia

Russian officials said Ukraine launched a massive drone attack early Sunday, hitting several regions in Russia, including power and refinery plants in Moscow and the nearby city of Tver.
Russia says air defenses intercepted and destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones, including two over Moscow and nine over the surrounding area. Forty-six drones were intercepted over Kursk, which has seen increased Ukrainian activity.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that falling debris from two drones caused a fire at an oil refinery. He explained that the fire was in a “separate technical room” at the plant, but operations were not affected.
State news agency TASS later quoted emergency services as saying the blaze had been contained.
Three drones attempted to strike a coal-fired power plant at Kashira, but no injuries or damage were reported.
It was not possible to independently confirm the Russian reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Separately, Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region injured more than 40 people, including five children. Overnight shelling in the Sumy area left one person dead and four wounded, according to local officials.
Elsewhere, at least three people were killed and nine wounded Sunday in Russian shelling in Kurakhove, about 33 kilometers south of Pokrovsk, Donetsk regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.
The Ukrainian air force also shot down eight of 11 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling for more advanced Western missiles to target more deeply into Russian territory.
It has also been nearly a month since Ukraine went on the offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, even as Russian troops are reported to be making advances in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday it had taken control of the towns of Pivnichne and Vyimka, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim.
Russian forces have been driving more deeply into the partly occupied eastern region; one of the Kremlin’s primary ambitions is the total capture of the area. Russia’s army is getting closer to Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub for the Ukrainian military in the area.
Kyiv is urging Washington to lift restrictions on using allied-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Ukraine argues such strikes would greatly impede Moscow’ s ability to continue its attacks on Ukraine.
Senior officials from Zelenskyy’s administration were in Washington last week, appealing to the United States for what Zelenskyy called “capabilities to truly and fully” protect his country.
Some information for this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.