The Moscow region is hit by a drone blitz as Russian missiles kill 10 in a Ukrainian village

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

Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike on a village in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed at least 10 people and wounded 17 others as the barrage demolished homes, officials said.

The countries are locked in an escalating duel of long-range aerial strikes. 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, and neither side is making significant battlefield progress, analysts say.

In 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.

Officials in Kyiv 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 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 toward the Moscow region, where 180 were shot down, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said without elaborating.

Officials reported no deaths or major damage. Ukraine has increasingly launched swarms of hundreds of drones to try to overwhelm Russian air defenses.

In the region that surrounds the capital, three people were wounded, Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said.

Three people were also wounded in the adjacent Ryazan region where three private houses were damaged, Gov. Pavel Malkov 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, which it says helps supply the Russian military, an allegation Moscow denies.

Wildberries said its facility sustained “insignificant damage.”

Coverage of the attack in state and Kremlin-backed Russian media was mostly muted, as is often the case. Russia’s main TV channels — state-run Russia 1 and Channel One — did not mention the attack at all in their morning news bulletins.

But Russian state news agency RIA Novosti featured it among the main news on its website’s homepage, describing it as “one of the most large-scale attacks on Moscow since the beginning of the summer.”

State newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on its website prominently featured a roundup of what Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov reported about the attack, describing it as “massive” in the headline. Pro-Kremlin tabloid MK featured a news brief about it on its home page.

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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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,” he 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, Ukraine’s National Police said.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office last month, said the U.K. will continue to stand by Ukraine after Russia said that Kyiv’s reported use of British drones for attacks on Russian soil would bring unidentified consequences.

“We are providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself, and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict by previous prime ministers," Burnham said. “It remains the case with me.”

British newspaper The Sunday Times reported that two U.K. companies made drones used by Ukraine to hit Russia.

Following the report, the Russian Embassy in the U.K. said in a statement that “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian state TV that Moscow has the right to view British involvement in strikes on Russian territory as “participation in the war, with all the ensuing consequences.”

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Brian Melley in London contributed.

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)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - 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)

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)

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff knew in 2024 that a student had reported being gang raped at a fraternity house, but never followed up to learn what had happened to her or whether any of the accused students had been punished.

In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, a day before Cornell’s Faculty Senate began debating a no-confidence resolution in his administration, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he did not know until recently that the woman had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident.

Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations involving drug use and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house in a November 2024 message to the Cornell community, saying criminal and university investigations were underway.

He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations.

The case has drawn national attention since the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit alleging that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints.

On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties through the end of the academic year and plans to give state police a role in investigating sexual assault reports.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten initially declined to pursue charges after reviewing a summary prepared by Cornell University Police, but later said it omitted key details. He reopened the investigation after the lawsuit was filed. Gov. Kathy Hochul subsequently removed him from the case, appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor and ordered an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the allegations.

The Cornell Faculty Senate's proposed resolution, declaring no confidence in the administration's ability to handle reports of sexual assault on campus, reflects growing concerns among some faculty members that people who report sexual misconduct face institutional barriers and fear retaliation. Some have called for Kotlikoff’s resignation, while others have urged patience as independent investigations proceed.

Kotlikoff was to address the Faculty Senate before members began debating the resolution. Debate was expected to continue Oct. 28, followed by electronic voting by the Faculty Senate, which has approximately 130 voting members. A simple majority is required for passage.

For Ariana Kim, an associate music professor at Cornell and co-sponsor of the resolution, Kotlikoff’s acknowledgment that he had not followed up on the woman’s case was deeply troubling.

“I mean, that’s appalling in and of itself, right?” Kim said. “That you don’t know about a student who faced an alleged horrific crime, that you don’t think to check in.”

Kim, a Grammy-nominated violinist, said she was motivated to take action after being struck by Jane Doe's story, as well as her own personal experiences on campus since she started at Cornell a decade ago as a young academic in her 20s. She said when she experienced bullying and sexual harassment by senior colleagues, Cornell failed to properly document her complaints and that she was never clearly informed what disciplinary action, if any, had been taken.

“I was asked what I had done to provoke the situation,” she said.

Kim said she continued to be expected to work alongside colleagues she said had harassed her. Her efforts to avoid them later became a point of criticism during her tenure review. In one instance, a senior professor cited her unwillingness to accept his advice and her avoidance of him in explaining his vote against granting her tenure.

Kim spent more than a year appealing the initial denial of tenure, a process during which she said she lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and struggled to eat or sleep. The original decision was ultimately overturned, and she secured tenure.

Now seeking promotion to full professor, Kim said she recognizes that publicly criticizing university leaders could again jeopardize her career.

“I’m speaking out publicly against this administration that may very well deny my promotion,” she said.

Kim said she has considered leaving Cornell many times over the years but is determined to stay and make the university safer for those who come after her.

“If by me fighting, it helps move the needle a little bit so that my female students aren’t going through this in 10 years or my female colleagues aren’t going through this in five years, then maybe it’s worth it.”

Anne Marie Brady, a senior extension associate at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and another co-sponsor of the resolution, questioned whether Cornell University Police can independently investigate serious allegations of sexual misconduct.

“There doesn’t seem to be independence between the administration and the Cornell Police Department,” Brady said. She pointed to its handling of campus protests as one reason for her concerns and said serious criminal allegations should be investigated by outside law enforcement agencies.

Brady welcomed Kotlikoff’s announcement that state police would take on a role in sexual assault investigations, saying it showed the administration was listening to faculty concerns. But she questioned the timing, a day before the Senate was scheduled to begin debating the no-confidence resolution.

“I’m happy that they are listening — we need a dialogue,” she said. “We need to debate and discuss this. But I also feel it’s a bit disingenuous that it comes out just before the resolution.”

Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the White House during a "Stop Sexual Violence" protest in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the White House during a "Stop Sexual Violence" protest in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)