Ukrainian forces have launched one of their biggest drone attacks on Russia since the invasion began, firing almost 800 drones

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, fire is seen on the site of a Russian air attack in Pechenihy, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces staged one of their biggest drone attacks on Russia since Moscow’s invasion more than four years ago, firing almost 800 drones just two days after launching a similar salvo, officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike on a village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed at least 10 people and wounded eight others as the barrage demolished homes, officials said Tuesday.

The warring countries are locked in an escalating duel of long-range aerial strikes as fighting on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine is restricted by large numbers of drones and ground robots threatening troop movements, analysts say.

Russia's Putin resists pressure for peace talks

Over the past year Ukraine has devised and deployed domestically produced long-range drones for strikes deep inside Russia. Its drone technology has impressed governments and defense manufacturers around the world.

Kyiv officials aim to make the Russian public feel the war’s consequences and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into negotiating a peace settlement. Putin has so far shown no sign he intends to stop the invasion.

“Putin continues to drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine’s realistic ceasefire proposals and ending the bloodshed,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.

Russian air defenses overnight intercepted 791 Ukrainian drones over a number of Russian regions, as well as annexed Crimea and the Black and the Azov seas, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said, in what was the second-largest drone attack since January 2025, according to an Associated Press tally.

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In this photo provided by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov's official telegram channel, flame and smoke rise from a construction site after a Ukrainian drone attack in an undisclosed area in the Moscow region, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov's office via AP)

More than 600 Ukrainian drones flew towards the Moscow region, where 180 were shot down, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. He didn’t provide further details.

Officials reported no deaths or major damage.

In the Moscow region that surrounds but doesn’t include the Russian capital, three people were injured, Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said.

The overnight attack started a fire at a warehouse of Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, in an industrial zone. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the company’s depots, which it says help supply the Russian military.

Wildberries said its facility sustained “insignificant damage.”

Ukraine's Zelenskyy accuses Russia of a 'brutal attack’ on civilians

A Russian missile strike on the village of Pechenihy in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed 10 civilians, according to preliminary information, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.

Another 17 people were wounded, he said. Zelenskyy called it “a brutal attack” that damaged 10 homes, a cafe, a post office, a store and at least seven vehicles, according to Syniehubov.

“We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

Also, three people were killed and three others were wounded over the past day in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Sumy region, including drone strikes and an explosive device blast, Ukraine’s National Police said.

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Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, rescuers carry a body that they removed from under the rubble of a private house following a Russian air attack in Pechenihy, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, fire is seen on the site of a Russian air attack in Pechenihy, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

A street cleaner observes a daily nationwide minute of silence in memory of soldiers killed in the war with Russia, in Kyiv, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)