Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Monday that air defence systems destroyed almost 60 drones headed toward the Russian capital. Emergency services were dispatched to locations where debris fell, though officials provided no immediate details on casualties or damage.

The attacks prompted temporary flight suspensions at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovskiy airports before operations later resumed, according to Russia’s aviation authorities.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said a total of 301 drones were intercepted overnight, including over Russian-controlled territories in occupied areas of Ukraine. The latest wave of attacks followed renewed Ukrainian strikes last week on Moscow’s only oil refinery, one of the most significant assaults on the Russian capital since the full-scale war began in 2022.

In Ukraine, regional authorities reported civilian casualties in several areas following Russian attacks.

In the northeastern Sumy region, prosecutors said a drone strike killed three members of the same family — a 13-year-old boy, his 36-year-old father and his 73-year-old grandmother. The boy’s mother and two siblings were injured.

Further south, a drone attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed one woman and wounded three others, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.

In the Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said a Russian Iskander ballistic missile struck an agricultural facility on Sunday evening, killing one person and injuring three others. The attack sparked fires involving vehicles and fuel storage tanks.

Security concerns also intensified in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Sevastopol authorities cancelled all outdoor public events on Monday and ordered street lighting to remain switched off as a precautionary measure.

Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev urged residents to reduce electricity consumption amid growing pressure on regional energy supplies. Authorities have also restricted fuel sales to government agencies and essential services after repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics routes and energy infrastructure contributed to shortages.

Ukraine’s navy said Russian drones also targeted commercial shipping in the Black Sea overnight, damaging three merchant vessels.

One of the vessels, the Panamanian-flagged dry cargo ship Victress, operated by Turkey-based Rana Denizcilik according to shipping data, sustained significant damage after being struck by a drone. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said a 58-year-old Egyptian crew member was killed and eight others, including Turkish and Indian nationals, evacuated the vessel aboard a lifeboat.

Kuleba said two additional merchant vessels sailing under the flags of Palau and Belize were also attacked but continued their voyages without reported casualties.

The incidents underscore the continued risks facing commercial shipping in the Black Sea, where attacks on ports, vessels and export routes have become a recurring feature of the conflict and have disrupted regional trade since the war began.

The latest exchanges highlight the growing use of long-range drones by both sides as the conflict increasingly extends beyond front-line battlefields and into major urban centers, critical infrastructure networks and international maritime corridors.

In Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, prosecutors said three people were killed in two bomb attacks and five were injured. The area is part of Ukraine’s heavily fortified “fortress belt” on the front line.

In Zaporizhzhia, national police reported a wave of dozens of drone strikes that killed one person in a car and injured seven others. Regional officials said there were five strikes in total, damaging homes, a shopping center, and an educational institution.

Images showed burning buildings and severe structural damage.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Authorities in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro said Russian forces launched missiles, drones and artillery strikes that killed two civilians and wounded six others.

Regional officials also reported additional casualties in the northeastern Sumy region and the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, where 13 more people, including three children, were injured.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of targeting civilian areas, allegations both sides deny.

At the same time, Ukrainian drone attacks struck several Russian regions overnight, targeting industrial zones and energy infrastructure that Kyiv views as critical to Moscow’s war financing capabilities.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems intercepted 273 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, according to state news agency TASS.

In Russia’s southern Stavropol region, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said drones targeted industrial facilities near Nevinnomyssk, home to the large chemical producer Nevinnomyssky Azot, which has previously been attacked during the conflict.

Authorities in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region also reported drone activity near the city of Kstovo, where one of Lukoil’s major oil refineries is located.
Additional drone interceptions were reported over the Leningrad region, which hosts one of Russia’s largest oil export terminals and refinery complexes, as well as near Moscow and the Tula region south of the capital.

Regional officials in Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, said an ambulance driver was injured during attacks in the area.

Ukraine has intensified long-range drone operations against Russian oil infrastructure in recent months, seeking to disrupt fuel supplies and reduce energy export revenues that support Moscow’s military operations.

The latest strikes coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China, one of Russia’s largest energy customers and a key economic partner since Western sanctions intensified following the invasion of Ukraine.

The conflict has increasingly evolved into a war of attrition marked by missile barrages, drone warfare and attacks on strategic infrastructure far from the front lines.

Valery Gerasimov said in remarks released by the defense ministry that Russian forces had taken control of 80 settlements and were pushing toward what he described as Ukraine’s “fortress belt” in the east.

The campaign is focused on the Donbas, where Russian troops are advancing toward a line of heavily defended cities, including Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. Gerasimov said Russian forces were within 7 to 12 kilometres of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and already engaged in fighting in parts of Kostiantynivka.

Russia is also conducting operations in the northern Sumy region and the northeastern Kharkiv region, aiming to establish what it calls a “security zone” along the border.Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine’s military did not immediately comment.

Pro-Ukrainian mapping suggests a smaller territorial gain by Russian forces this year.Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said earlier this month that Kyiv’s troops had recaptured nearly 50 square kilometres in March, highlighting continued contested advances in what is Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

According to Russian estimates, Moscow controls about 90% of Donbas and roughly 75% of the Zaporizhzhia region and Kherson region, along with smaller parts of other regions including Mykolaiv region and Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russia also retains control of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, a move widely rejected internationally.The conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, continues to see incremental territorial shifts, with both sides reporting gains amid heavy fighting.

Ivan Fedorov said Russian forces carried out two overnight strikes on the Zaporizhzhia district, destroying private homes. A 10-year-old boy and a 48-year-old man were among those injured, he said in a statement posted on Telegram.

The attack adds to a series of strikes on civilian infrastructure in southern Ukraine, where frontline regions continue to face sustained bombardment.

Local officials said residential properties were damaged in the latest assault, underscoring the ongoing risks to civilians.

No immediate comment was issued by Russia on the reported strikes.

The developments come ahead of a planned meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators in the United States on Saturday, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, as efforts continue to restart diplomatic engagement over the conflict.

Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, supported by Washington, have faced delays in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials have said the talks were disrupted by the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has shifted international attention and diplomatic resources.

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces remains ongoing, with periodic escalations reported across multiple regions. The latest strike highlights the continuing volatility on the ground even as diplomatic efforts seek to regain momentum.