Russia, Ukraine launch air attacks on each other’s capitals
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A vendor sitting outside Barabashovo market, which was hit by a Russian drone strike, on May 6, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV - Russia and Ukraine launched overnight air attacks on each other’s capitals on May 7, with swarms of drones destroyed on their approach to Moscow, and Russian missiles and drones sparking fires in several apartments in Kyiv.
Falling debris from destroyed drones sparked fires in apartments and buildings across three of Kyiv’s districts, said Ukraine’s military administration on social media, just hours after Russia sent missiles to the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram messaging that a total of six people were injured in the overnight attacks.
Five people were injured in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district that sprawls along the Dnipro River, said the head of Kyiv’s military administration Timur Tkachenko on Telegram.
Moscow’s key airports remained out of operation for most of the night after Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones after 10pm on May 6 (3am on May 7, Singapore time), with no damage reported.
Ukraine’s drone attack on Moscow for the third consecutive night comes as the Russian capital readies itself for a long holiday weekend and a May 9 parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be hosting the leaders of several nations at the parade, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, called for a May 8-10 ceasefire in the war that Moscow launched against Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the measure pointless and offered an unconditional ceasefire over at least 30 days in line with a US proposal launched in March.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said flights were halted at all four airports that serve Moscow for several hours overnight to ensure air safety for the third night in row. Airports in a number of regional cities were also closed.
According to data from Rosaviatsia, Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports handled a combined 76 million passengers in 2024. That translates to just over 200,000 passengers per day. REUTERS
