Russia, Ukraine trade drone, missile strikes

MOSCOW/KYIV — Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow on Sunday as Russia launched missile strikes in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, officials from the two sides said.

With fighting at the front at a near standstill and talks frozen, the two countries have significantly stepped up long-range attacks deep behind each other's lines.

In Russia, swarms of Ukrainian drones killed five people in a residential area of the southern Rostov region, regional governor Yuri Slusar said. Two more people were killed in the Belgorod and Moscow regions.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported a sustained overnight drone assault on the capital, issuing a string of updates over several hours.

Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as "one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory".

Russia's defense ministry said it had intercepted 822 drones across the country overnight.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted warehouses linked to the Wildberries online retailer, arguing its strikes are a response to Moscow's bombardment of Ukrainian towns and infrastructure.

In Ukraine, a barrage of Russian drones and missiles killed two people and wounded 14 at ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Kryvyi Rih.

The plant, one of Ukraine's biggest steel producers, said it partially halted operations after the strike damaged its core production facilities.

In Kyiv, authorities issued an air raid alert just before 2 am and several explosions were heard shortly after.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city was "under ballistic missile attack" and urged residents to remain in shelters.

The strikes sparked fires in the Obolonsky and Holosiivskyi districts of the capital.

Attacks also hit other regions, killing two people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and one in the border region of Sumy.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA