Ukraine aims a drone blitz at Moscow while Russian missiles kill 10 in a Ukrainian village

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal.

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

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)

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)

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 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)

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 ship was hit by a projectile early Tuesday as it was sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British military's UK Maritime Trade Operations center.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack highlights the ongoing danger of attempting to transit the waterway as Iran continues to throttle shipping traffic, even as it finalizes negotiations with Oman on a plan to manage the critical passage.

Here’s a look at the latest developments Monday in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

An unidentified projectile damaged the engine room of a ship and “resulted in a crew casualty” early Tuesday morning as the vessel was trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the UKMTO said, citing a report from the company's security office.

The maritime monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was not clear whether the crew member was killed in the attack or wounded. It said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating.

There has been growing concern about oil spilling into the Persian Gulf and other area waters from vessels damaged as they have attempted to transit the strait, but the UKMTO said no environmental damage had been reported in the latest attack.

Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28.

The U.S. also is currently blockading all Iranian shipping traffic through the strait.

With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran stalled, Iran has been holding separate talks with Oman on a plan to manage ships transiting the strait, and said Monday it was in the process of finalizing details for a joint statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump reacted angrily, reportedly threatening to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that the U.S. would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran.

The call between the two presidents came late Monday as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the United States and Iran was expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start.

“President Erdogan said it is important to make maximum use of diplomacy amid tensions between Iran and the United States, expressed our hope that talks will continue, and noted that Turkey will keep supporting efforts toward peace,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office.

Erdogan also expressed concerns over intensified Israeli actions targeting Palestinians at a time when efforts are underway to move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, the statement said.

Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, earlier this month signed a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which stipulates “that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”

Trump praised the agreement, saying in a social media post that “it shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way.”

During their conversation, Erdogan told Trump the deal reflected “a strong stance to ensure regional stability and security.”

Dark oil residue covers parts of the shoreline at Shib Deraz Beach on Qeshm Island, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, amid ongoing wartime attacks on vessels and infrastructure in and around the Strait of Hormuz, though the spill’s source has not been independently determined. (Amirhosein Khorgooei/ISNA)