The Daily Populous Monday May 18th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by united24media.com and submitted by UNITED24Media

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian long-range drones carried out overnight strikes against Moscow and the surrounding region on May 17, describing the operation as a response to continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

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According to statements published by Zelenskyy on Telegram on May 17, Ukrainian drones struck targets located more than 500 kilometers from Ukraine’s border despite what he described as the highest concentration of Russian air defense systems in the Moscow region.

“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said. “This time, Ukrainian long-range sanctions reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war.”

Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified. This time, Ukrainian long-range sanctions reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war. Ukrainian drone and… pic.twitter.com/BVFJ1BJQ1i — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 17, 2026

Zelenskyy added that Ukrainian drone and missile manufacturers “continue their work” and thanked the Security Service of Ukraine and the country’s Defense Forces “for their precision.”

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense in a statement published on Threads on May 17, the strikes targeted several facilities in Moscow and the Moscow region, including the Moscow Oil Refinery, the “Solnechnogorskaya” fuel depot, and enterprises linked to microelectronics production.

The ministry described the attack as “one of the largest” carried out against the Moscow region since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “War is returning to where it came from,” the ministry wrote.

Explosions were reported overnight in Moscow, Zelenograd, Khimki, Lobnya, and Naro-Fominsk. Reports also indicated damage to the ELMA technology park and infrastructure connected to oil storage and refining facilities.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on May 15 that Ukraine’s military and intelligence leadership had discussed expanding long-range strike operations against Russian infrastructure, including targets linked to Russia’s oil industry, military production, and logistics networks. He described the campaign as Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” against Russia.

SnooPaintings8639 on May 17th, 2026 at 11:09 UTC »

With 90B EUR from EU, Ukraine's industrial capabilities will only grow over time. I hope Russians know that the pressure on them can and will only go up.

If not Putin himself, there might be some other "Prigozhin" who will decide that enough is enough...

Intepp on May 17th, 2026 at 10:43 UTC »

I mean yeah

Were people expecting the attack to be from Finland or what? xD

Samski877 on May 17th, 2026 at 10:37 UTC »

For years Ukrainians have lived with missiles, drones and air raid sirens over their cities almost every night while much of Russia carried on relatively normally far from the front line

Its not surprising Ukraine wants to show that Moscow is not completely insulated from the consequences of a war the Kremlin chose to start