Ukraine-Russia war: Moscow targeted in huge drone attack exchange

Russian forces targeted Ukrainian military sites in an operation to prevent an alleged hijacking attempt on a Russian electronic warfare helicopter, Russian state media reported citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

FSB said it successfully intercepted Ukraine’s efforts to take control of the aircraft.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said a show of strength is necessary along with diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine as US president-elect Donald Trump was expected to speak with Vladimir Putin.

“We understand very clearly that diplomacy has no prospects without strength,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

“But without a clear understanding of diplomatic goals, weapons alone will not do the job. That’s why strength and diplomacy must work hand in hand.”

This is the only way to secure a lasting peace and to prevent from wars such as the one Moscow has been waging against Kyiv from recurring, he added.

Ukrainian president, who has unrelentingly called for a “fair” end to the war, has lobbied the United States and its Nato allies to arm Kyiv and help force Russian president Vladimir Putin to peace, saying Ukraine is open only to “honest” diplomacy.

Ukraine has also been pleading with its allies to allow Kyiv the use of western long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory and undermine Moscow’s war infrastructure.

His call for strengthening diplomatic efforts comes as Mr Trump has repeatedly that he could end the war in Ukraine “in a day,” but he never said how. On Thursday, Mr Trump spoke with Mr Putin and advised him not to escalate the war, a source told Reuters.

Russian air attacks killed at least five people overnight, injured 19 more including five children and set on fire to several buildings in southern Ukraine, regional governors said today.

Four people were killed in Mykolaiv region and one was killed in Zaporizhzhia region, where a residential building was destroyed, the governors of the regions said on the Telegram messaging app.

Among the injured in Zaporizhzhia were five children between the ages of 4 and 17.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks, but thousands of people have died since Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine in February 2022, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.

The Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions and most the of eastern half of Ukraine have been under air raid alerts and under a threat of Russian drone attacks on and off for most of the night, starting around 1930 GMT on Sunday, according to data from the Ukrainian air force.

Russian capital Moscow came under attack with the largest Ukrainian drone strikes as Vladimir Putin’s forces launched their own record air attack over Ukraine.

Three airports in Moscow were briefly closed, with flights rerouted, while at least one individual sustained injuries.

Russia reported that its air defences intercepted 84 drones, with nearly half over Moscow and the remainder over western regions of the country.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 145 drones across the entire country on Saturday night, with the majority being intercepted.

Five people were injured and four causes caught fire in south-west Moscow’s Ramenskoye due to the falling debris, the Russian ministry of defence said.

In Ukraine, at least two people were killed and another was injured in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said on Monday.

Ukraine’s air force reported that 62 of Russia’s Iranian-made drones were intercepted, while 67 went “off course.” An additional 10 drones exited Ukrainian airspace, returning toward Russia, Belarus, and Moldova.

A family has paid tribute to their “brave” son who has been killed while fighting in Ukraine.

In an interview with the BBC, his father Steven Draper said he begged his son not to travel to Ukraine, but he told him he was “not frightened of bullies”.