Ukraine Continues High-Volume Long-Range Drone Strikes Against Russia With Attacks on Moscow, Rostov, Samara

Ukraine continued striking deep into Russia with swarms of drones on Saturday and Sunday, killing at least six and damaging a commercial warehouse and state-run space center.

Sunday Strike: Russia's Ministry of Defense said it shot down 822 Ukrainian drones over 16 different western Russian regions, Crimea, and the Black and Azov Seas overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 600 drones were headed toward Moscow, and a third were destroyed over the Moscow region itself. Associated Press (Lean Left bias) reported that Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov said an 83-year-old civilian man was among the dead. He also confirmed that a Wildberries – which many major outlets have described as Russia's version of Amazon – warehouse was struck near Moscow. Five were killed in the Rostov region, according to Rostov Oblast Governor Yury Slyusar. Ukraine began striking Wildberries facilities in mid-July and has struck over 20 of them since. In Rostov, Ukrainian drones also reportedly damaged a house, a railway station, and started a forest fire. Ukrainian outlet The Kyiv Independent (Center) said Kyiv has not commented on the attacks in Moscow.

Saturday Strike: On Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine struck the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara, which is located deeper in Russia, north of western Kazakhstan. The Russian Defense Ministry said that 598 Ukrainian drones were shot down or intercepted above 20 different regions overnight into Saturday. As of early Sunday, Kremlin-funded RT (Lean Right) highlighted this in news coverage, though did not report on Ukraine's large Sunday strike. Several outlets, including ZeroHedge (Lean Right) and The Telegraph (Center) noted that Ukraine managed this strike using FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touted as "a good achievement."

In Ukraine: Russian strikes killed two and wounded 14 others in Kryvyi Rih on Sunday, according to Zelenskyy. He also said one was killed in Sumy, in eastern Ukraine. Six were also reportedly injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv. Also, Romania said NATO forces downed a drone that breached Romanian airspace early on Sunday near the Ukrainian border. The drone entered from Moldova, and its debris fell in an unpopulated part of the Galați region.

For Context: Ukraine's strikes deep into Russia come as some mainstream commentators have suggested it may finally be gaining the upper hand in the conflict. Last Monday, Ukraine launched another one of its largest attacks yet on Russian soil, killing 13 and wounding 75 others, including a child. Turkish state media Anadolu Agency (Center) wrote, "Independent verification of the claims made by both sides remains difficult due to the ongoing conflict."

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