Sobyanin said Russian air defenses had intercepted at least 180 drones heading toward the capital. In a post on Telegram, he added that one drone struck a shopping center building.
Russian media reported a high-rise residential building and several private homes were hit during the attacks. All four of Moscow’s airports — Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo — shut down arrivals and departures on Thursday morning because of the strikes.
Zelenskyy also confirmed attacks in Russia’s Rostov region and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Russian state media reported that one person was killed and two others injured in the strikes in Rostov.
The Ukrainian president characterized the operation as “fully justified” retaliation for Russia’s large-scale attacks on Kyiv and other cities that left several dead and the iconic Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv in flames last weekend. The strikes, he added, were “another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine.”
Zelenskyy also urged Moscow to negotiate. “It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” he wrote.