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Ukraine Fires 400 Drones Toward Moscow As Zelenskyy Grapples With Protests
Ukraine launched a major drone assault on Moscow, firing over 400 drones towards the Russian capital, while Russia struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in an ongoing cycle of retaliatory attacks. The exchange comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces a domestic political crisis, with days of street protests following his decision to remove Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister while retaining military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi, exposing tensions between the armed forces' old guard and younger reformers.
Moscow's mayor said most of the 400-plus drones were shot down away from the capital, with 85 intercepted nearby, while regional officials reported 10 people wounded and damage to residential buildings and infrastructure. Fires broke out at an industrial park and reportedly an oil depot south of Moscow, and Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces also hit logistics and oil facilities over 250 miles inside Russia, plus several vessels linked to Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea; none of these claims could be independently verified. The strikes underline Ukraine's growing long-range drone capability against Russian oil infrastructure, even as Kyiv continues to seek advanced interceptors to counter Russia's increasingly frequent ballistic missile attacks.
In short
- Ukraine fired 400+ drones at Moscow amid ongoing tit-for-tat strikes
- Russia hit Kyiv with ballistic missiles; 10 hurt in Moscow region
- Zelenskyy faces protests after sacking defence minister Fedorov
Explained simply
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and the two countries have been engaged in an intense military conflict ever since. Both sides regularly conduct strikes on each other's territory, targeting military and civilian infrastructure in an escalating series of attacks and counter-attacks.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been Ukraine's president since 2019 and has led the country through the Russian invasion. The armed forces are divided between those pushing for reform and modernisation and the military establishment, a tension that has created friction within Ukraine's war leadership.
Ukraine has developed increasingly sophisticated weapons and tactics to compete against a much larger military opponent. At the same time, internal divisions within Ukraine's leadership could affect how effectively the country can sustain its war effort and maintain public support during a prolonged conflict.