Drone strike on Moscow Oblast space centre on 30 June
A retrospective on a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a communications site north of Moscow and, per Russian authorities, caused civilian deaths in two Russian regions.
What happened on 30 June 2026, as Ukraine's drone campaign reached Moscow Oblast again? Ukrainian forces launched a major drone attack on the region, striking the Dubna Space Communications Center to the north of Moscow.
Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building in Yegoryevsk, killing an infant. Another drone strike reportedly killed a 61-year-old woman in Tver Oblast.
A campaign announced days earlier
The attack followed a series of strikes in the preceding days. On 24 June, Ukrainian forces hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which also houses the only helium plant in Russia, as well as two facilities of the Russian Satellite Communications Company, one in Moscow Oblast and one in Vladimir Oblast. Russia said it had shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight.
On 26 June, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Russia since the start of the war, with over 660 drones sent at multiple regions, including Moscow Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had approved a 40-day campaign aimed at compelling Russia to end the war.
On 27 June, Ukraine's Security Service announced a strike on the Vtorovo oil pumping station in Vladimir Oblast, described as part of that campaign. The same day, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 was destroyed on the ground by a Russian Geran kamikaze drone at an airbase in southern Ukraine, and another MiG-29 was lost during a combat mission over Poltava Oblast. Its pilot ejected and reached safety.
