76 Drones Downed, Flights Grounded, and Escalation Brewing as Russia Hits Back Harder in Ukraine
Flights were frozen over Moscow skies early Tuesday after Russia scrambled to shoot down a wave of Ukrainian drones that lit up its air defense radars. It marked another spike in tensions as the war lurches into its third volatile summer.
Officials say 76 drones were shot out of the sky in just two hours. The barrage was one of the boldest Ukrainian air raids to date, prompting a temporary halt in operations at four major Moscow-area airports — Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky.
The drone assault came just hours after Russia carried out the largest drone and missile offensive of the war so far — firing nearly 500 self-destructing drones across Ukraine overnight. Kyiv’s air defenses were pushed to their limits, but they held the line. For now.
Moscow Pauses Aviation as Drones Creep Closer
The Russian capital hasn’t exactly been immune to drone threats in recent months, but Monday night’s wave sent officials scrambling.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation agency, confirmed that air traffic was halted at all four airports serving the capital early Tuesday, citing “safety reasons.” The suspension was brief, but it rattled nerves.
In a rare move, state news agencies didn’t just vaguely report the incursion — they put a number on it. Seventy-six Ukrainian drones, intercepted and destroyed in a span of just two hours.
One sentence from the Kremlin-aligned TASS wire stood out: “This was an organized, large-scale attempt to destabilize airspace.” That’s not a phrase they use lightly.
Kyiv Under Fire, But Holding Its Ground
Ukrainian officials painted a grim picture of the overnight barrage. And yet, they also seemed quietly triumphant.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 479 Shahed-style drones — loitering munitions meant to self-detonate — in a coordinated strike across major cities and infrastructure.
And somehow, Ukraine took down or jammed 460 of them.
• That’s a 96% neutralization rate — staggeringly high by modern warfare standards.
Oleksandr Koval, the head of Rivne’s regional military administration, said the attack was one of the most “mentally and physically draining” of the entire war. While infrastructure damage was still being assessed, the bigger picture was clear: Ukraine had been tested again. And survived.
Drone Wars in the Sky, Psychological Wars on the Ground
This week’s escalation isn’t just about hardware or airspace. It’s psychological.
Both sides know what’s at stake: perception. Strength. Stability.
Kyiv’s latest drone assault on Moscow isn’t going to stop Russian missiles from flying. But it sends a message — one that travels much further than any drone can.
Moscow, for all its firepower, remains within reach.
The Russian response? Equally theatrical and unrelenting. Just hours before the drones buzzed its airfields, Russia launched its largest strike on Ukraine since the war began in 2022.
Dnipropetrovsk in the Crosshairs?
While Ukraine’s air defense teams were occupied with wave after wave of drones, Russian ground forces were reportedly making slow advances in the southeast.
Local Ukrainian media and military sources say Russian units are now edging closer to the Dnipropetrovsk region — an area previously hit from the air but largely spared from direct ground conflict.
There’s no clear breakthrough yet. But the signs are worrying.
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Russian artillery strikes have intensified in the area.
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Drone surveillance over Dnipro city has increased.
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Kyiv has redeployed troops to bolster defenses in the southeast corridor.
It’s starting to feel like Moscow’s summer offensive — long expected, long delayed — is finally taking shape.
Trump Slams Putin, But Peace Still Looks Distant
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, U.S. President Donald Trump didn’t mince words. During a campaign stop, he called Vladimir Putin “crazy” for ramping up attacks and “playing with fire.”
It was a rare moment of direct criticism from Trump, who’s previously suggested he could end the war quickly if reelected.
But tough talk doesn’t equal action. And peace — at least any U.S.-brokered version of it — seems farther away than ever.
Ukraine agreed to a U.S.-pushed 30-day ceasefire in March. Russia didn’t bite. Since then, bombardments have only grown more intense.
For all the backchannel diplomacy and public posturing, both capitals appear dug in deeper than before.
One sentence from a Ukrainian defense advisor this morning summed it up best: “There’s no ceasefire. There’s fire.”
