Indian National Killed, Three Others Injured in Ukraine Drone Strike Near Moscow

Drone Strikes in Russia: Indian Worker Killed, Three Injured

A devastating drone strike in Russia's Moscow region on Sunday left one Indian worker dead and three others injured, according to the Indian embassy in Moscow. The embassy confirmed the incident in a statement posted on X, stating that officials had visited the injured workers in hospital and were coordinating with local authorities and company management to provide assistance.

The drone attack occurred as Ukraine launched one of its biggest aerial attacks on Russian territory since the war began. Russia's defence ministry reported that it had faced a massive overnight barrage involving nearly 600 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including Moscow. Air defence systems destroyed 556 drones overnight, and later, over 1,000 drones were shot down or jammed over a 24-hour period.

According to Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyev, a woman died after a drone struck her home in Khimki, northwest of Moscow, while two men were killed in Pogorelki village north of the capital. Authorities in Belgorod reported another man died after a drone hit a truck. The strikes also damaged unspecified infrastructure and several residential high-rises around Moscow, officials said.

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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that at least 12 people were injured, most near the entrance to the city's oil refinery. He added that the refinery's core technology systems were not damaged. Russia's largest airport, Sheremetyevo International Airport, said drone debris fell on airport grounds without affecting flights or causing major damage.

Russian state media reported that 81 drones headed toward Moscow were intercepted overnight, marking one of the largest direct attacks on the Russian capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly defended the strikes, calling them "entirely justified" retaliation for Russia's continuing attacks on Ukrainian cities. He claimed some drones travelled more than 500 kilometres into Russian territory and said Ukraine was increasingly overcoming Russian air defence systems concentrated around Moscow.

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Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil and energy facilities using long-range drones in an attempt to disrupt Moscow's export revenues, a major source of funding for the war effort. Meanwhile, Russia also carried out fresh drone attacks on Ukraine overnight, with Ukraine's air force reporting that 287 drones were launched, of which 279 were intercepted or electronically jammed. Ukrainian authorities said eight people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown. Residential buildings were damaged in multiple locations, emergency officials said.