Moscow/Kyiv: Ukraine launched hundreds of drones deep into Russian territory on Sunday, killing at least six people in one of Kyiv’s most expansive aerial offensives since the conflict began.

Kyiv has intensified its long-range strategy this year, deploying swarms of drones and long-range missiles aimed at crippling Russian military industries, energy infrastructure, and giant Wildberries logistics depots. By targeting the Russian online retail giant's facilities and destroying billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise, Kyiv is increasingly bringing the reality of the conflict home to the Russian public nearly 4½ years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed its air defenses destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, approximately 600 drones were detected heading toward the capital, with a third intercepted over the Moscow region.

Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov confirmed that an 83-year-old man was killed when a drone struck a private residence, while another attack triggered a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in the town of Podolsk. Further south, in Russia's Rostov region, local Governor Yury Slyusar reported five fatalities following a wave of over 150 drones that damaged residential homes, hit a railway station, and ignited a forest fire across three towns.

Simultaneously, Russian forces launched retaliatory and targeted strikes across Ukraine. A missile attack on Kryvyi Rih left two people dead and 14 wounded, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who added that another fatality occurred in Sumy. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, local military head Ivan Fedorov stated that a man and a woman died when their home was struck.

Offensives across the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv sparked several fires and injured six people.

“Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy posted on social media. “Since this morning, air raid alerts have continued in many regions — the Russians launched another wave of drones.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged its strikes, stating it targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih alongside military-industrial facilities in Kyiv—including a factory producing Ukraine's domestically made Flamingo missiles.

The long-range Flamingo missiles have become central to Ukraine’s strike capabilities. On Saturday, Zelenskyy revealed that Ukrainian forces used the weapons to strike a rocket research and manufacturing site in Samara, roughly 900 kilometers (560 miles) inside Russian territory.

The escalating drone warfare also spilled into NATO airspace. Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported that a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet intercepted and shot down an unidentified drone over Romanian territory early Sunday.

Surveillance systems detected the drone at 4:44 a.m. about 24 kilometers (14.9 miles) north of Galati, near the Moldovan border. The Spanish jet, operating under NATO air policing duties, “made radar contact with the target and received engagement approval,” according to the ministry. “The drone was safely shot down by the F-18 aircraft at 05:01.”

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While Romanian officials did not confirm the drone's origin, the interception follows a series of similar airspace violations, including Romanian F-16s downing three drones over three days just weeks prior. Acting Foreign Minister Oana Toiu noted on X that the Spanish fighter deployment had been expanded “at the request of Romania and NATO to bolster the Eastern Flank following prior drone incidents,” marking Spain's fourth air policing mission in the country. (AP)