Ukraine Launches Massive Drone Retaliation... Civilian Casualties Mount in Moscow, Russia

Russian Ministry of Defense: "556 Drones Shot Down"
Four Russian Civilians Killed, Dozens Injured

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone retaliatory attack in response to Russian aggression. Direct strikes by Ukraine on Moscow, the Russian capital, have been rare, and this operation is being described as unprecedented in its scale.

An apartment in Moscow, the capital of Russia, damaged during Ukraine's large-scale drone retaliatory attack on the 17th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Reuters and other sources on the 17th (local time), the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had shot down 556 Ukrainian drones across Russia overnight. However, some drones fell in urban areas, resulting in the deaths of four civilians and injuries to dozens more. In Moscow alone, three people were killed.

In addition, a significant number of high-rise apartments and infrastructure were damaged, and it was reported that workers at construction sites near oil and gas refineries were also injured.

Reuters described this Ukrainian attack on Moscow as the largest in about a year. AFP also noted that although the Russian capital region has frequently been targeted by drone attacks, the frequency in Moscow itself has been relatively low, calling this "one of the largest airstrikes to date."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned of retaliatory action, stating on social media on the 15th that "no attack by the aggressor that claims the lives of our people will go unpunished." Earlier, Russian bombings in the capital Kyiv over two days from the 13th had killed 27 people.

The large-scale attacks from both sides took place immediately after the end of the Victory Day truce marking the end of World War II in Russia, and after U.S. and Russian leaders both mentioned the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine. The ceasefire negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which had been progressing under U.S. mediation, have stalled due to the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump mediated a three-day ceasefire from the 9th to the 11th, but as soon as the truce ended, both sides resumed high-intensity attacks, raising tensions even further.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.