Ukraine launches massive drone attack on Russian energy infrastructure

KYIV — Russia shot down 158 drones overnight, including 11 over Moscow and the surrounding region, its Defense Ministry said Sunday, as officials across the country scrambled to respond to what appeared to be one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia yet.

The assault targeted energy infrastructure, including power plants and oil refineries, and fires broke out at several facilities, including in Moscow. Officials said dozens of the drones were shot down over the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion on Aug. 6. Russia still controls part of the region.

The mayor of Moscow, who posted updates to the messaging service Telegram regularly through the night, reported the presence of drones in various suburbs of the city. No deaths or injuries related to the drone attack were reported in Russia.

The attack came after an especially intense week of Russian bombardments on Ukraine, including on energy infrastructure, which worsened power blackouts throughout the country and killed civilians.

Russia unleashed another missile barrage Sunday afternoon, striking locations across the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Video footage shared on social media showed people running to take shelter as balls of fire exploded in the air.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said dozens were wounded in the strikes, including five children. Two days before, a Russian glide bomb struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, killing seven people, including a 14-year-old child, and wounding more than 70.

Ukraine’s allies have imposed restrictions that prevent it from using many weapons inside of Russia, especially for long-range strikes, which Kyiv says would limit Russia’s capacity to carry out attacks on civilians. Ukraine has relied instead on domestically produced drones to strike targets deep inside Russia.

A delegation of Ukrainian officials is in Washington this week requesting changes to that policy, which Kyiv says has left it fighting with one hand tied behind its back.

“It is only fair that Ukrainians should be able to respond to Russian terror in exactly the way necessary to stop it,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Sunday. To make such a decision, he wrote, “does not require extraordinary forces, but enough courage on the part of the leaders - courage to give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself.”

Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia, and Serhii Korolchuk in Kyiv contributed to this report.