{"id":18943,"date":"2026-07-20T14:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/18943\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:36:07","slug":"ukraine-fires-400-drones-toward-moscow-zelenskyy-deals-with-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/18943\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine fires 400 drones toward Moscow, Zelenskyy deals with protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city\u2019s mayor said Monday.<\/p>\n

The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv<\/a> and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow\u2019s more than 4-year-old all-out invasion<\/a> appear a distant possibility.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold \u201ckey talks\u201d Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis, after last week\u2019s government reshuffle<\/a> exposed a deep split between the military\u2019s old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister<\/a> and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won\u2019t derail the fight against Russia.<\/p>\n

Days of street protests<\/a> in favor of Fedorov and against Syrskyi followed Zelenskyy\u2019s move.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a residential building following a Russian air attack in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Monday, July 20, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)\n<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Monday, July 20, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo\/Dan Bashakov)\n<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents look at their ruined home following a Russian air guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kateryna Klochko)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a residential building following a Russian air attack in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Monday, July 20, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a>
\nUkraine hits another Russian oil depot<\/p>\n

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 400 Ukrainian drones were sent toward the Russian capital from late Sunday until early Monday, with most downed far from the city and 85 intercepted near it.<\/p>\n

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 10 people were wounded by Ukrainian drones, while several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged.<\/p>\n

The attack started a fire at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Moscow, according to Yevgeniya Khrustaleva, the head of the Domodedovo area of the Moscow region.<\/p>\n

The Astra news outlet reported the assault also caused a fire at an oil depot in Podolsk, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Moscow, but there was no official confirmation of the strike.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian forces hit logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv\u2019s forces hit two vessels belonging to Russia\u2019s so-called shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil and four dry cargo ships in the Black Sea.<\/p>\n

A drone struck a passenger bus in Shebekino in Russia\u2019s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, killing five people \u2014 four women and a boy \u2014 and injuring 23 others, according to acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.<\/p>\n

It was not possible to independently verify either side\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s long-range drone technology<\/a> has evolved during the war, posing a problem for Russia, whose huge land mass is hard to protect fully. Kyiv\u2019s forces have aimed especially at Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages<\/a> and embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

In May, the Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,054 Ukrainian drones<\/a> in a 24-hour period.<\/p>\n

Russia uses ballistic missiles more frequently<\/p>\n

As Kyiv pleads with foreign partners to supply it with sophisticated interceptors<\/a> that can counter Russian ballistic missiles, which are much harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles, Moscow\u2019s forces have sought to take advantage of the weaknesses in Ukraine\u2019s air defenses.<\/p>\n

Ballistic missiles fly faster than the speed of sound and can reach Kyiv in minutes, giving air defenses little time to react and civilians to reach shelter.<\/p>\n

Russia has stepped up its use of ballistic missiles<\/a> recently. Ukrainian officials said Sunday that Moscow\u2019s bombardment killed at least six people and wounded dozens.<\/p>\n

\u201cRussian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month,\u201d the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s air force said Russia fired two missiles and 94 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight. It said air defenses jammed or intercepted 81 drones, while nine drones and a missile caused damage at nine locations.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said Monday its forces struck fuel tanks in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa overnight.<\/p>\n

A Russian strike on Pavlohrad in Ukraine\u2019s central Dnipropetrovsk region injured 13 people, according to military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. Eleven people were hospitalized, including a 13-year-old girl, he added.<\/p>\n

A cargo ship attack killed 10 sailors off Odesa<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s Sea Ports Authority said a cargo vessel under the flag of the West African country of Guinea Bissau was hit by Russian forces on Sunday shortly after it left the port of Odesa, killing 10 of its crew, including five sailors from Syria. Eight people were rescued from the ship, which was carrying Ukrainian corn, it added.<\/p>\n

Syria\u2019s General Authority for Borders and Customs said it \u201cstrongly condemns the repeated attacks targeting commercial vessels with Syrian sailors and crews aboard in Ukrainian ports and nearby maritime areas in the Black Sea, and the resulting deaths and injuries among Syrian sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Syrian statement did not mention Russia. Moscow has built relations with the new Syrian government since former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024 in a rebel offensive led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.<\/p>\n

AP reporter Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed.<\/p>\n

Follow the AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[158,25,6,3903],"class_list":["post-18943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-kyiv","tag-russia","tag-russia-ukraine-war","tag-ukraine-drones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}