Five people were killed in the attack on the town of Merefa in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine [Reuters]By Adam Hancock, AFP and ReutersPublished On 4 May 20264 May 2026
Russian missile attacks have killed at least eight people in Ukraine following a rare overnight drone strike on Moscow.
A Russian strike midmorning on Monday on the town of Merefa in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed six people and wounded more than 30 others officials said.
Civilian infrastructure was targeted in the attack, including at least 10 houses and four shops, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported, noting that two men and three women were killed on the spot, and another man died in a hospital from his wounds.
“Today during the day, the occupiers attacked civilian infrastructure of a town quite far from the front with a missile,” he said on Telegram, adding that it will take another day or two to clear the debris.
Officials said Russian forces appeared to have used an Iskander-type ballistic missile.
To the south, two men were killed during various attacks on the Kherson region, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Russia has yet to comment on the strike in Kharkiv. Moscow has persistently denied intentionally targeting civilians since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite daily reports of deaths and injury.
In an overnight attack into Monday, Ukraine targeted Moscow with a drone strike on a residential high-rise building in an upscale neighbourhood.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties in the attack on Mosfilmovskaya Street, an expensive district of the city 10km (6.2 miles) southwest of the Kremlin.
Russian state broadcaster Rossiya-1 published a video showing collapsed walls and broken doors inside a damaged apartment.
Two other drones also targeted the Russian capital overnight but were repelled by air defence systems, Sobyanin said.
The rare attacks on Moscow come five days before Russia’s annual Victory Day parade, which this year will be held without military hardware amid a heightened threat from Ukrainian strikes.
“They fear drones may buzz over Red Square,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement as he joined European leaders at a summit in Armenia, referring to Russia’s decision not to involve cadets and military hardware at this year’s parade.
Kyiv in recent weeks has stepped up its strikes on Russian oil refineries, ports and depots. But Ukrainian drones infrequently reach Moscow, which is heavily guarded by air defence systems.
