Ukraine launched more than 500 drones in an overnight attack on Russia, killing at least one person and damaging infrastructure, according to local authorities. The attack, which took place in the early hours of Sunday, targeted several locations including Moscow and the Belgorod region, with reports of drone debris falling at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia launched 287 drones in response, 279 of which were shot down or jammed.

Deadly Strikes and Casualty Reports

A woman was killed after a drone struck her home in Khimki, a city northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the village of Pogorelki, 10 kilometers north of the capital, according to local governor Andrei Vorobyev. Vorobyev also reported that Ukrainian drones damaged unspecified infrastructure and several high-rises. In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded, mostly near the entrance to the city’s oil refinery, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported. Sobyanin confirmed that the refinery’s technology had not been damaged.

Separately, in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, the emergency service reported that 8 people were injured — three in the regional capital of Dnipro, four in Kryvyi Rih, and one in the district of Synelkove. Residential buildings were damaged in all three locations.

Ukrainian President Justifies the Attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a “justified” response to Russia’s prolongation of the war. The strikes occurred on the eve of a reported “final ceasefire showdown” between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump. According to international media, multiple areas of Kyiv came under attack from the morning, with air-raid sirens sounding for about 10 hours. Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched a large-scale attack targeting energy and civilian facilities in Kyiv with more than 500 drones and over 40 missiles. At least two people were killed and 46 injured in the assault.

Starlink and Drone Technology in the Conflict

Amid the escalation, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called on SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to prevent Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone strikes on Ukraine. Sikorski warned that profiting from war crimes “may damage your brand.” A report from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War stated that Russian troops are increasingly using Starlink satellite systems to extend the range of BM-35 drones for strikes on Ukraine. According to the report, BM-35 drones equipped with Starlink have a flight range of 500 kilometers, covering most of Ukraine, all of Moldova, and parts of Poland, Romania, and Lithuania if launched from Russian or occupied Ukrainian territory.

Musk responded to Sikorski’s accusations, calling him a “drooling imbecile” and defending Starlink’s role in supporting Ukraine’s military communications. A military expert, Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov, noted that Russia used Shahed drones on Starlink for the first time on January 24 to target helicopters near Kropyvnytskyi. In September 2024, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, reported that Russian troops had installed Starlink satellite communications on Shahed-136 drones, giving the UAVs unlimited communication range.