Ukraine Launches 1,900-Target Barrage at Moscow as Russia Calls It Largest Ever
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 20
Ukraine Launches 1,900-Target Barrage at Moscow as Russia Calls It Largest Ever
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 20
Summary
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted more than 1,900 aerial targets overnight — including drones, eight guided bombs, eight cruise missiles and four rockets — in what would be Ukraine's biggest attack of the war.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called it an unprecedented assault, saying air defenses shot down 450 drones headed for the capital on Saturday night.
The barrage followed earlier waves during Russia's parliamentary elections that damaged the Gazpromneft-Moscow oil refinery and residential buildings in the Moscow region, with Russian officials reporting at least three deaths and 20 injuries.
Kyiv has framed such strikes as a way to hit oil and logistics infrastructure supporting Russia's war effort and bring the conflict's costs closer to the Russian public.
Ukraine’s June 18, 2026 Drone Strike on Moscow: Anatomy, Motives, and the Economic and Political Shockwaves Reshaping the Russia-Ukraine War
Overview
In June 2026, after years of relentless Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and a deadly strike on Kyiv’s Lavra monastery, Ukraine shifted to a strategy of proportional retaliation and economic warfare. Launching its largest drone assault on Moscow, Ukraine used advanced long-range drones and saturation tactics to overwhelm Russian air defenses, successfully striking the vital Kapotnya oil refinery. The resulting fires and disruptions triggered panic in Moscow, forced airport closures, and exposed the public to the war’s realities. Cumulative strikes soon disabled nearly half of Russia’s oil refining capacity, causing severe fuel shortages, price hikes, and a deepening economic crisis across the country.