WorldUkraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city's mayor said Monday.
The same day, Ukrainian officials said a Russian missile strike on a ship carrying corn near Ukraine's southern port of Odesa killed 10 people in the deadliest attack in a weeks-long flare-up of violence in the Black Sea.Blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missilesThe Associated Press · Posted: Jul 20, 2026 11:12 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 20Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Smoke billows in the aftermath of what Russian authorities said were Ukrainian drone attacks in Podolsk, in the Moscow region, on Monday. (Reuters)Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city's mayor said Monday.The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow's more than four-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold "key talks" Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis, after last week's government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war. Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won't derail the fight against Russia. Days of street protests in favor of Fedorov and against Syrskyi followed Zelenskyy's move. Hundreds of drones sent toward Moscow: mayorMoscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 400 Ukrainian drones were sent toward the Russian capital from late Sunday until early Monday, with most downed far from the city and 85 intercepted near it.Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 10 people were wounded by Ukrainian drones, while several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged.A warehouse complex that, according to local authorities, was damaged in a recent Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in shown Domodedovo in the Moscow area. (Reuters)The attack started a fire at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, about 30 kilometres south of Moscow, according to Yevgeniya Khrustaleva, the head of the Domodedovo area of the Moscow region.The Astra news outlet reported the assault also caused a fire at an oil depot in Podolsk, about 20 kilometres south of Moscow, but there was no official confirmation of the strike.Ukrainian forces hit logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv's forces hit two vessels belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil and four dry cargo ships in the Black Sea.A drone struck a passenger bus in Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, killing five people — four women and a boy — and injuring 23 others, according to acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.It was not possible to independently verify either side's claims.Ukraine's long-range drone technology has evolved during the war, posing a problem for Russia, whose huge land mass is hard to protect fully. Kyiv's forces have aimed especially at Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages and embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin. In May, the Russian Defence Ministry said air defences downed 1,054 Ukrainian drones in a 24-hour period. Ongoing ballistic missile threatsAs Kyiv pleads with foreign partners to supply it with sophisticated interceptors that can counter Russian ballistic missiles, which are much harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles, Moscow's forces have sought to take advantage of the weaknesses in Ukraine's air defences. A woman stands near an apartment building hit by a Russian airstrike, in the Ukrainian town of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region. (Reuters)Ballistic missiles fly faster than the speed of sound and can reach Kyiv in minutes, giving air defences little time to react and civilians to reach shelter.Russia has stepped up its use of ballistic missiles recently. Ukrainian officials said Sunday that Moscow's bombardment killed at least six people and wounded dozens. WATCH | Ukraine's major defensive challenge:Is Ukraine running out of interceptors? | About ThatJuly 7|Duration 2:52Andrew Chang breaks down why Ukraine’s air defences failed to intercept any of the ballistic missiles Russia fired during its latest attack.
