Ukraine fires largest drone barrage at Russia

Kremlin condemns strikes, which came hours before top US and Ukrainian officials sat down for talks

By AFP
|
March 12, 2025
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 2, 2024. — Reuters

Sapronovo, Russia: Ukrainian drones smashed into high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday, in what both sides called the largest attack targeting the Russian capital of the three-year-conflict.

The Kremlin condemned the strikes, which came hours before top US and Ukrainian officials sat down for talks in Saudi Arabia.

Three people were killed and several more wounded, while Russian oil supplies to Hungary were suspended after pipeline infrastructure was hit and dozens of flights had to be rerouted as Moscow airports were closed.

Kyiv said the strikes should push Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept its call for a halt to long-range aerial attacks, a proposal Moscow has previously ruled out.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced Kyiv for targeting “residential houses”, claiming Russia’s own forces only hit military infrastructure, despite near daily attacks on Ukraine’s civilian areas and thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed by its offensive.