Moscow targeted by drones while Russia bombards Kyiv

Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city's mayor said Monday.The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow's more than 4-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility.Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the onslaught lasted from late Sunday until early Monday, local time, with most downed far from the city and 85 intercepted near it.Moscow regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said 10 people were wounded by Ukrainian drones, while several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged.The attack started a fire at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, about 30 kilometres south of Moscow, while a Russian news outlet also reported that an oil depot in Podolsk, about 20 kilometres south of Moscow, was on fire after being struck.Recent Ukrainian drone attacks are bringing the conflict closer to home for residents of the Russian capital. (Reuters)Ukrainian forces hit logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv's forces hit two vessels belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil and four dry cargo ships in the Black Sea.A drone struck a passenger bus in Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, killing five people — four women and a boy — and injuring 23 others, according to acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.It was not possible to independently verify either side's claims.Russia steps up ballistic missilesUkraine's long-range drone technology has evolved during the war, posing a problem for Russia, whose huge land mass is hard to protect fully. Kyiv's forces have aimed especially at Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages and embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin.In May, the Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,054 Ukrainian drones in a 24-hour period.In response, Russia has turned towards greater use of its ballistic missile stocks, taking advantage of a Ukrainian shortage of intercepters.Ballistic missiles fly faster than the speed of sound and can reach Kyiv in minutes, giving air defenses little time to react and civilians to reach shelter."Russian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month," the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Sunday."Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles," it noted.Ukraine's air force said Russia fired two missiles and 94 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight. It said air defences jammed or intercepted 81 drones, while nine drones and a missile caused damage at nine locations.Ukraine is testing Russia's air defences with drones, while the Kremlin is turning to ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept. (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday its forces struck fuel tanks in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa overnight.A Russian strike on Pavlohrad in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region injured 13 people, according to military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. Eleven people were hospitalised, including a 13-year-old girl, he added.Cargo ship attackedUkraine's Sea Ports Authority said a cargo vessel under the flag of the West African country of Guinea Bissau was hit by Russian forces on Sunday shortly after it left the port of Odesa, killing 10 of its crew, including five sailors from Syria.Eight people were rescued from the ship, which was carrying Ukrainian corn, it added.Syria's General Authority for Borders and Customs said it "strongly condemns the repeated attacks targeting commercial vessels with Syrian sailors and crews aboard in Ukrainian ports and nearby maritime areas in the Black Sea, and the resulting deaths and injuries among Syrian sailors."The Syrian statement did not mention Russia.Moscow has built relations with the new Syrian government since former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024 in a rebel offensive led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.Zelenskyy faces protestsMr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold "key talks" Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis, after last week's government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war.The Ukrainian president needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won't derail the fight against Russia.Days of street protests in favour of Mr Fedorov and against Mr Syrskyi followed Mr Zelenskyy's reshuffle.AP