Ukraine’s drone blitz deep inside Russia intensifies as Moscow threatens Britain

Russia reported on Tuesday about another massive drone attack launched against it by Ukraine overnight, with around 800 drones intercepted — at least 600 of them targeting the Moscow area. This followed a similar attack two days earlier involving approximately 600 drones targeting Moscow. The attacks highlight the growing intensity of Kyiv's long-range strike campaign, aiming to disrupt the Kremlin's war effort, economically damage Russia, and make civilians bear the war's cost, increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin to end it.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that a total of 791 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight across various regions, including Crimea, the Russian peninsula annexed in 2014, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The mayor of Moscow stated that 600 drones were launched towards the capital, of which 180 were intercepted. It is unclear whether any damage was caused, but three people were wounded, including a 10-year-old girl, and a Wildberries warehouse was damaged.

Moscow is now threatening retaliation against Britain following reports that British-made drones have also been used by Ukraine in recent attacks. These attacks have caused an estimated $47 billion in damage, including oil and fuel industry disruptions. Although Britain has long restricted Ukraine's use of its weapons deep inside Russia, it has recently eased these restrictions, with Britain now providing Ukraine with 150,000 drones valued at $996 million.

Russia's embassy in Britain threatened that the country would "pay" for the UK's assistance, accusing London of facilitating "terrorist attacks" by Kyiv, which it considers a proxy war against Russia. Britain's new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, pledged on Tuesday to continue supporting Ukraine fully, signaling that they view the attacks as part of their commitment to defend Ukraine against Putin's illegal war.