October 16, 2026
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukrainian forces appeared to strike multiple targets across Russia’s Moscow, Rostov, and Vladimir regions in a widespread drone attack overnight on Oct. 16.
The Kyiv Independent can not independently verify attack targets or damage at this time.
According to monitoring channels ExileNova+ and SuperNova+, Russian technology giant Yandex’s data center in Vladimir Oblast, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was targeted in the overnight operation.
Footage from residents at the scene shows large explosions and air defense systems operating around residential buildings.
Following strikes on the same Yandex site on Oct. 11, the company announced operations at the data center had been completely shut down. That strike marked the third near-consecutive day of attacks on Yandex data centers in Russia, following confirmed strikes in Ryazan and Kaluga oblasts on Oct. 8 and 9.
The string of attacks on Russian data centers follows President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement that Ukraine would retaliate in kind to Russian strikes on Ukrainian internet infrastructure.
Earlier in the night around Moscow, Ukrainian drones shut down airspace above multiple airports. According to Russian opposition news channel Astra, plane departures and arrivals to the Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, and Sheremetyevo airports were canceled overnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that over 59 Ukrainian drones were destroyed by the capital’s air defense system throughout the night.
The closure of Moscow’s airspace partially realizes threats made by Zelensky in September when he promised that Russian skies would soon be “de facto closed.”
“There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account,” said Zelensky.
It is currently unclear what, if any, targets were hit around Moscow. Eyewitness footage from city residents shows what appears to be flames illuminating the night sky, accompanied by the sounds of drones overhead and loud explosions.
Previously, several Moscow airports temporarily suspended flights on Oct. 9, as suspected Ukrainian drones and balloons entered airspace around the Russian capital.
Over 950 kilometers (590 miles) southeast of Moscow, Ukrainian drones attacked targets in the Rostov Oblast.
According to regional Governor Yuri Slusar, production and storage facilities were damaged, and a fire broke out as a result of the drone attack in the town of Aksay. The Chertkovsky district and the city of Bataysk in the region were also targeted, Slusar said.