Moscow Shoots Down Nearly 60 drones; Russian Attacks Kill 5 in Ukraine

Reuters - Moscow shot down dozens of drones in the early hours of Monday 22 June 2026 and briefly suspended flights at airports, authorities in the Russian capital said, just days after Ukraine hit the city's oil refinery again.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian drones had hit civilian merchant vessels, killing an Egyptian crew member, while drone attacks elsewhere killed at least five people, including three members of the same family in Ukraine's northern Sumy region.

Nearly 60 drones headed for Moscow were downed, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. He said emergency services had been dispatched to the areas where drones were downed but gave no further information.

The airports of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo, as well as Zhukovskiy near the Russian capital, suspended flights, though they later resumed, the aviation watchdog said separately.

In total, Russian defence systems downed 301 drones overnight, local newswires said, citing the defence ministry. That tally included Russian occupied areas of Ukraine.

The latest attacks came after drones again hit Moscow's only oil refinery last week, in one of the biggest air attacks on the city since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The drone attack early on Monday in Ukraine's Sumy region killed a 13-year-old boy, his 36-year-old father and 73-year-old grandmother, while the boy's mother and two siblings were injured, regional prosecutors said.

In the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, a woman was killed and three other people injured after a drone attack, Ivan Fedorov, the local governor, said on Telegram on Monday.

Russia also hit the southern Odesa region with an Iskander ballistic missile on Sunday 21 June 2026 evening, killing one and injuring three people, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. Vehicles and fuel storage tanks caught fire after the strike hit an agricultural facility, he said.

Elsewhere, the city of Sevastopol in Russian annexed Crimea cancelled all open air public events on Monday and will keep street lights switched off, its governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said, as he called on people to curb electricity usage.

Crimea, a popular tourist destination for Russians, has suspended fuel sales to the public and businesses, with supplies restricted to government agencies responsible for essential services and security, as Ukraine's drone attacks on its supply routes and energy facilities elsewhere led to a fuel crisis.

Three vessels under Russian drone attack

Russian drones hit a Turkish dry cargo vessel, the Victress, which was sailing under the Panamanian flag, Ukraine's navy said. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said a 58-year-old Egyptian cook was killed and eight other crew members, including Turkish and Indian nationals, had to evacuate in a lifeboat.

The vessel sustained significant damage, Kuleba said on Telegram. The operator of the Victress, Turkey's Rana Denizcilik according to LSEG data, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kuleba said vessels operating under the flags of Palau and Belize also came under attack overnight, but nobody was hurt and the vessels resumed their journey.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's maritime export routes, striking vessels and ports vital to foreign trade and the wartime economy.