Russian officials said Ukraine launched more than 400 drones toward Moscow and the surrounding region overnight on July 19–20, 2026, wounding 10 people, including three Chinese nationals, and causing fires and damage to buildings. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region. The operation came amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine and domestic protests following Zelenskyy’s dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow
- ▪The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its air defense systems intercepted 381 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russian regions, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.
- ▪Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that 85 Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defense systems as they approached the Russian capital
- ▪Ukraine launched a massive overnight drone attack targeting the Moscow region with over 400 drones between the evening of July 19 and the morning of July 20, 2026
Russian missile attacks on Ukraine
- ▪A Russian guided bomb attack on Zaporizhzhia on July 21, 2026, killed at least three people and injured more than a dozen.
- ▪A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on July 19, 2026, killed one person and wounded 16 others.
- ▪A Russian missile strike on the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship Golden Leo near Odesa on July 19, 2026, killed 10 crew members, including Syrian and Indian nationals.
Targeting fuel logistics infrastructure
- ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces targeted logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region located more than 400 kilometers from the border.
- ▪Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have doubled since the beginning of 2026, contributing to fuel shortages and production shutdowns.
- ▪A Wildberries logistics center in the Podolsk district was temporarily evacuated as a precaution during the drone strikes before resuming normal operations
Casualties from drone strikes
- ▪A drone strike on a passenger bus in Shebekino in the Belgorod region killed five people, including four women and a boy, and injured 23 others.
- ▪The drone attack on the Moscow region wounded 10 people, including three Chinese nationals, and damaged private homes in Podolsk, Domodedovo, and Odintsovo
- ▪A drone strike on a village in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine killed one person and wounded four others.
Defense Minister Fedorov dismissal
- ▪Mykhailo Fedorov publicly accused armed forces chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi of blocking his initiatives and sabotaging his work prior to his dismissal.
- ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed 35-year-old Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a reformer credited with expanding Ukraine's drone capabilities.
Protests over military leadership
- ▪Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Kyiv to protest the replacement of Mykhailo Fedorov and demand the removal of commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
- ▪Protesters accused Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi of resisting military modernization and maintaining a rigid command structure that contributes to high troop losses.
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