Ukraine and Russia escalate long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian targets

Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone strikes of the war against Moscow Oblast, launching more than 1,600 long-range drones in a single wave. Russian sources cited by Al Jazeera confirmed the attack, which killed at least two people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents. The Moscow oil refinery sustained several direct hits and caught fire, representing an intensification of Ukraine's campaign against Russian energy infrastructure far inside Russian territory.

Several days later, Russian forces launched drone and missile strikes against Kyiv, targeting residential buildings and other civilian sites. The attacks killed seven people, including a 14-year-old boy, and injured 46 others. The strikes continued Russia's established pattern of bombardment against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, a campaign that has persisted since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The exchange demonstrates how both sides have increasingly relied on long-range drone and missile attacks to strike infrastructure and population centres distant from active combat zones. More than four and a half years into the war, neither Kyiv nor Moscow has shown any indication of reducing these campaigns, despite the mounting civilian casualties that both nations have suffered.