JUNE 30, 2026

Ukraine strikes Moscow-area satellite center for second time in a week; infant killed in separate drone hit on residential building

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow region on Monday night into Tuesday, with Russian air defenses reporting the interception or destruction of 419 drones overall. A six-month-old baby died after a drone struck a residential home in the Moscow region, trapping occupants under rubble. Ukraine said the attack hit the Dubna Satellite Communications Centre north of Moscow for the second time in just over a week.

Ukraine said it struck the Dubna Satellite Communications Centre, located roughly 500 km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, describing the facility as used for intelligence gathering and coordination of Russian armed forces in Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was the second claimed Ukrainian strike on Dubna in just over a week; Kyiv said it had also hit the site on June 22.

Russia did not confirm that the communications center was struck. Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said a drone hit an "administrative building" in the town with no reported casualties at that site. Separately, Vorobyov said rescue workers extracted two adults and two children from a home struck by a drone, but a six-month-old infant died en route to the hospital.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Russian air defenses intercepted more than 60 drones in multiple waves directed at the capital starting Monday night. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported intercepting or destroying 419 drones in total across the operation.