Ukraine Launches Major Drone Strikes on Russia Amid Escalating Conflict

Ukraine on Sunday launched hundreds of drone attacks across Russia, killing at least six people, in one of its largest drone strikes since the start of the war. Russia hit back soon after, and an Indian tycoon’s factory, the largest integrated steel unit in Ukraine, was caught in the crossfire. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told TASS news agency that it was the biggest air raid on the Russian capital in the past two years. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ’s administration has stepped up its attack against Russia this year, with hundreds of drones and long-range missiles targeting energy facilities and military industries, AP reported. Russian defence ministry on Sunday said that it shot down 822 drones overnight throughout the country. Meanwhile, Ukraine also came under Russian attack, with drone strikes destroying homes and other marketplaces in the country. A total of five people were killed in Ukraine in separate strikes carried out by the Russian military in Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, the southern Zaporizhzhia region, among others. Ukraine’s largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, which is part of the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal-owned ArcelorMittal group, confirmed that one of its sites had been hit in a Russian missile attack, and the operations at the company have been partially suspended, AP reported. Russian defence ministry acknowledged the strike and said its military targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih and several military-industrial sites in Kyiv. Videos of the Ukrainian strike on Russian distribution company Wildberries’ Koledino went viral on the internet, wherein ⁠a large plume of smoke was seen over the site, located 45 kilometres south of Moscow. Kyiv has been targeting Wildberries, which it claims is used as a warehouse for holding military goods. It is part of Ukraine’s larger strategy to dismantle Russian economic infrastructure. However, Russian attacks sparked fires throughout Kyiv that injured six people. The blaze spread to Kyiv’s largest book markets, tearing through kiosks huddled close to the Pochaina metro station. “Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said.