Kiev launches drone barrage at Moscow on Nazi invasion anniversary
A total of 84 Ukrainian drones were intercepted in 24 hours while flying toward Moscow, local officials say. The broader Ukrainian overnight wave included over 300 aircraft targeting Russia. The barrage comes as the nation marks the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported no casualties or damage on the ground during the raid, which took place from Sunday night into Monday morning. Several airports serving the Russian capital temporarily halted operations in response to the Ukrainian drone threat.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses destroyed or intercepted 301 Ukrainian long-range drones over an 11-hour period.
The attack coincided with the date when Russia commemorates the Nazi assault on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The invasion began the bloodiest conflict in the country’s history and ultimately cost the Soviet Union more than 27 million lives.
Modern Ukraine glorifies nationalist figures and movements that collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. Among others, tributes have been paid to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, whose members took part in mass killings of Poles, Jews, and Russians during the conflict.
Last week, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky was stripped of Poland’s highest merit, the Order of the White Eagle, after Warsaw objected to his decision to name an elite commando unit after “the heroes of UPA.” Previously Warsaw tended to overlook the Ukrainian framing of the historic atrocities to prioritize current military support against Russia.
Kiev has continued to launch EU-funded kamikaze drones against Russian energy infrastructure. Last Thursday, a barrage involving almost 200 UAVs targeting Moscow resulted in damage to a refinery in the city’s southeastern Kapotnya district and left at least 17 people injured in the surrounding Moscow Region.
