Russia was hit by a large-scale attack of nearly 600 drones, killing 4 people.
Russian officials said Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone attacks ever, with nearly 600 drones targeting Russian territory overnight, killing four people and injuring dozens.
An official statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense on social media on May 17 confirmed: "Air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 556 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to Ukraine."
In addition, 30 more were disabled in the early morning hours. This is considered the largest-scale UAV bombing raid since the conflict began.
The intercepts took place across 14 regions of Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov. The area surrounding Moscow was among the hardest hit.
"The air defense system had to continuously repel a large-scale UAV attack on the Moscow region starting at 3 a.m.," Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyov shared on Telegram.
The attack resulted in three fatalities (including a woman whose home was struck by a drone), four injuries, and significant damage to infrastructure.
Within the city limits of Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted more than 80 drones. Debris that fell injured 12 people, including several workers at a construction site near the oil and gas refinery. However, production at the plant was not disrupted.
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, local authorities also confirmed that a civilian was killed overnight when a drone struck a truck in the Shebekino district.
Information from the Ukrainian Air Force indicates that, during the same period, they also successfully intercepted 279 out of a total of 287 UAVs launched by Russia.
Both sides resumed intense fighting after a three-day ceasefire commemorating Victory Day in World War II expired, with both Russia and Ukraine accusing the other of violating the agreement.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict are currently at a standstill. Despite the US and the international community's efforts to bring the parties to the negotiating table, progress has stalled significantly since late February, when public and major power attention began to shift to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
