Following a deadly Russian missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine launched a massive retaliatory strike, sending a swarm of over 400 drones deep into Russian territory. Targets included an FSB base in Kherson, shadow fleet ships in the Sea of Azov, and vital energy and logistics hubs right outside Moscow. With long-range capabilities expanding rapidly, Ukraine is bringing the harsh reality of war directly to the Russian capital.
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00:00July 19th, 2026. Night has fallen over the Russian capital of Moscow.
00:06Situated approximately 280 miles from Ukraine, the city of 13 million people sleeps.
00:13But Moscow is about to suffer a rude awakening, because Ukraine's drone army is headed its way.
00:19Not just a couple of drones, or even a couple dozen of them.
00:22Over 400 unmanned aerial vehicles have taken to the skies and are speeding towards Russia's political, economic and cultural heartland.
00:33The swarm's mission is clear.
00:35Wreak havoc on the Russian capital, destroy valuable infrastructure,
00:39and continue Kiev's quest to make the war as costly and unsustainable as possible for its enemies.
00:45As the drones close in on Moscow, the city's protective rings of radars and air defence systems begin to activate.
00:52Missile systems, such as the Pantsir S-1, burst into life.
00:56Mobile air defence units aim their weapons at the skies,
00:59and electronic warfare systems start to emit jamming signals all around them.
01:03But it's too little, too late.
01:05The swarm is already at the gates, and it's far too large for Russia's depleted defences to deal with.
01:11Within minutes, the first explosions will break out, and smoke will fill the skies of the Russian capital once more.
01:17And the attack came just 24 hours after the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev endured one of the worst attacks
01:24of the war so far.
01:25On the night of July 18th, Russia decided to launch a massive salvo of ballistic missiles at Kiev,
01:31with the clear intent of dealing as much damage as possible, regardless of how many civilians were caught in the
01:36crossfire.
01:3841 missiles of various types were recorded entering the city's airspace in the dead of night,
01:43many travelling faster than the speed of sound.
01:46By the time the air raid sirens began to ring out around the Ukrainian capital,
01:50there was barely any time at all for the residents to rush from their beds,
01:53gather their loved ones, and seek shelter before the explosions began.
01:57The speed and manoeuvrability of the missiles, combined with the sheer number of them,
02:02made it incredibly difficult for Ukraine's air defences to deal with the attack,
02:06which also involved a reported 125 Russian drones.
02:10Ukraine has developed one of the most complex, layered air defence networks in the world,
02:15involving a mixture of Western missile systems like the Patriot and Iris TSLM,
02:19older Soviet systems like the S-300, electronic warfare jammers, automated turrets and mobile fire groups
02:25armed with anti-aircraft guns, heavy machine guns and shoulder-fired missile systems.
02:31Unfortunately, the country is running dangerously low on the expensive interceptor missiles required
02:36to deal with the fastest and most dangerous Russian threats, like cruise and ballistic missiles.
02:42So while the Ukrainian military was able to take down the vast majority of the UAVs,
02:46eliminating 108 out of 125, it could only stop less than half of the missiles, 18 of them to be
02:53exact.
02:54The rest struck their targets, with numerous explosions ringing out around Kiev,
02:58bringing yet more devastation to a city that has already suffered consistently
03:02since the conflict began back in February 2022.
03:06Booms and blasts filled the air, with many of the missiles leaving piles of rubble and raging fires in their
03:12wake.
03:13Impacts occurred in several of the city's districts, with residential buildings, warehouses, a dormitory and a supermarket
03:19all among the structures damaged during the night, according to Kiev's mayor, Vitaly Klitschko.
03:25A metro station close to the city centre was also damaged,
03:28and a nearby underground pedestrian passage caved in,
03:32leaving nothing but a pile of rubble for rescue workers to sift through.
03:36Approximately 600 of those workers, as well as medics, police officers and other emergency personnel,
03:41were called out in the aftermath of the attack to put out fires, clear debris,
03:45save trapped civilians and provide urgent medical care for those in need.
03:50Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later reported that at least one person had been killed,
03:55with 16 others injured and several in a serious condition.
03:59Andriy Sabia, acting Foreign Minister of Ukraine, stated that this was the biggest missile barrage
04:04Kiev had endured since the war began, and the capital city wasn't Russia's only target.
04:09While the fires were still burning in Kiev, Russian drones and bombs were also striking other cities
04:14and regions around the country.
04:16There were reports of attacks in Zaporizhia, where one person was killed,
04:20and Kherson, where two were killed, including a 75-year-old woman.
04:23Another death occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and a 16-year-old boy lost his life
04:28in the city of Odessa after the Russians attacked an amusement park.
04:32Attack after attack, explosion after explosion, death after death.
04:38Russia's relentless assault continues unabated, but Ukraine no longer has to simply sit and take it.
04:44It now has the weapons to hit back deep into Russian territory, repaying the Kremlin for every attack.
04:49And in the hours following the assault on Kiev, Ukraine's forces immediately began preparing
04:55their revenge strike.
04:56After suffering such an immense attack on its capital, Ukraine was eager to retaliate
05:01with a similar strike on Moscow.
05:02So over the course of July 19th, while rescue workers were still busy in the streets of Kiev,
05:08Ukrainian drone crews prepared a huge swarm of UAVs, made up of various models,
05:13including decoy drones and long-range one-way strike units like the Firepoint FP-1.
05:18And once the sun had set, the swarm was unleashed under the cover of darkness.
05:23Hundreds of Ukrainian drones took to the skies from various locations.
05:27And while the vast majority sped towards the Russian capital,
05:30Ukraine's commanders didn't focus exclusively on Moscow.
05:33They also wanted to ensure that they didn't overlook other locations and targets
05:37that were just as important, if not more so.
05:39So while hundreds of drones began their long flight in a north-eastern direction,
05:44a smaller swarm headed in the opposite direction, south, towards the Sea of Azov,
05:49that vital body of water that sits between the Crimean Peninsula and the Russian mainland,
05:53as well as the Black Sea, located even further south.
05:57Russian Shadow Fleet vessels have operated extensively in these bodies of water,
06:01illegally exporting oil and other commodities to bring much-needed money into the Kremlin's coffers,
06:06while also delivering vital supplies to the occupied peninsula.
06:10But recent weeks have seen Ukraine focus on disrupting the fleet's operations,
06:14damaging and even sinking numerous tankers, cargo ships and other vessels
06:18as they attempt to traverse the seas.
06:20And on the night of July 19th, more ships were about to experience the very same fate.
06:25Operating under the leadership of Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert Magyar-Brovdy,
06:30Ukrainian FPV drone pilots guided their kamikaze UAVs towards their targets.
06:36Travelling at high speeds and equipped with thermal cameras
06:38to easily pick out the various vessels spread out across the water,
06:42the drones had little trouble homing in on the Russian ships,
06:45which were far too large and slow to carry out any kind of evasive manoeuvre.
06:49What's more, apart from a few armed guards dotted across the decks,
06:52these vessels also have no real way to defend themselves against drone strikes.
06:56Ukraine's drones locked on and zoomed towards the ships.
06:59The first explosion rang out, sending ripples across the water.
07:03Crews and captains on board the other vessels heard the impact and saw the flames,
07:07but had no time to turn around.
07:09Knowing they were next in line, all they could do was wait and brace for impact.
07:14Another ship was struck, then another, and another,
07:17with Ukraine's drones specifically targeting the most important parts of each vessel,
07:21blowing holes in their hulls and starting fires in their superstructures,
07:25leaving them stranded and smoking as crews sprinted for the lifeboats.
07:29By the time the dust had settled, seven vessels in total had been damaged by the drones.
07:34That brought the grand total of Shadow Fleet ships attacked by Ukraine in July up to an astounding 183.
07:42In the aftermath, Russian officials decided to suspend shipping operations in the Sea of Azov,
07:47which will have a direct impact on the country's finances,
07:50as it's no longer able to transport oil and crops through this waterway to its international buyers.
07:55And while smoke was filling the skies above the seas,
07:58more Ukrainian drones were about to rain down hell on another important target, back on dry land.
08:04Miles inland and far from the unfolding chaos in the Sea of Azov,
08:08a swarm of Ukrainian drones was making its way to the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region.
08:13Controlled by a team of operators with the security service of Ukraine's Alpha Special Operations Center,
08:19the drones weren't simply scanning the area for any random Russian assets they could damage or destroy.
08:24They had a very specific target in mind, and every single one of them was headed straight for it.
08:30That target was a coordination center of the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB,
08:35the modern-day successor to the infamous KGB of the Soviet Union.
08:40Set up in an old boarding house facility that had been repurposed by Russia after their military had claimed control
08:45of the area,
08:45the center reportedly houses up to 100 servicemen and FSB officers at any given time.
08:51It's likely that dozens were in the building, sound asleep in the early hours of July 20th,
08:57as Ukraine's drones approached.
08:58They thought they were safe, and they had good reason to think that way, as the center was heavily guarded.
09:04According to Ukraine's own security service, there were multiple armed guards present at the facility,
09:08keeping an eye out for any incoming threats.
09:11Russian forces had also set up checkpoints in the surrounding area,
09:14which were operational at the time of the strike,
09:16as well as barriers and underground shelters that soldiers and officers could retreat to,
09:19if there was any suspicion of an imminent attack.
09:22The fact that Russia dedicated so many resources to defending this location shows how important it is.
09:28In many ways, the FSB is the brain behind the Kremlin's entire war effort,
09:32which is why Moscow goes to great lengths to keep its intelligence agency's bases and headquarters so secure and secretive.
09:38There was a time when Ukraine would have struggled to strike a site like this.
09:42It simply didn't have the technology or the quantity of assets needed to bypass Russia's defenses
09:46and deal serious damage to an FSB facility.
09:50But that time has passed, and Ukraine in 2026 is significantly stronger than it was before.
09:55It has drones that are faster, smarter, more resilient, and equipped with larger, more devastating warheads as well.
10:02And 13 of those drones are about to impact the base.
10:05Their pilots watched their screens from safe distances dozens of miles away as they drew nearer to their target.
10:11They soared over the Russian barriers, bypassed their armed guards, and observed the scene,
10:16spotting an estimated 70 vehicles parked around the facility's territory,
10:20a clear sign that there were likely to be dozens of officers inside at the time.
10:24Emboldened by that fact, and eager to deal a massive blow to the enemy's intelligence agency,
10:29the pilots sped onward, spreading out before flying their drones directly into the compound.
10:34One drone after another collided with its target, blowing holes in walls and roofs,
10:38and triggering intense fires that raged for hours afterwards.
10:41The attack was swift and efficient, leaving the Russians with very little time to react or respond,
10:46and within minutes, large parts of the center had gone up in smoke.
10:50There's no telling how many FSB personnel were killed or wounded,
10:53since Russia certainly won't be releasing any official numbers any time soon,
10:57but there's no doubt that the agency suffered a serious hit that night.
11:01But the biggest part of Ukraine's drone strike was still about to unfold several hundred miles north,
11:06in what was supposed to be the safest city in Russia.
11:09While small pockets of the larger drone swarm had veered away
11:12and successfully struck their targets in the Sea of Azov and occupied Kherson,
11:16the majority of the 400-strong UAV army beelined directly for the Russian capital.
11:22As they entered the city's outer limits, some of the drones were taken out by Russian defences.
11:26Some had their signals jammed by the Kremlin's latest electronic warfare systems.
11:31With their communications and navigational systems disabled,
11:34they spiraled out of the air and down to the ground below.
11:37Others were shot down by interceptors and ground teams.
11:40The swarm was slowly and gradually depleted,
11:43but it was far too big for Russia to eliminate in its entirety,
11:46and many of the UAVs made it past Moscow's outer ring of defences
11:49before splitting up and heading towards their own specific targets.
11:53Some of them rushed towards the industrial Moscow suburb of Podolsk,
11:57situated just 25 miles south of the Kremlin itself, and struck a major oil depot.
12:02This type of location has become a common target for Kiev's drones,
12:06as Ukrainian forces seek to deal heavy damage to Russia's energy infrastructure,
12:10a major pillar in the country's economy.
12:12The more oil depots, refineries and pipelines Ukraine can damage or destroy,
12:17the more money Russia will lose and the harder it will be to keep the war going,
12:20and the Podolsk depot was the latest in a long series of targets to fall.
12:24Local residents were roused from their sleep by the sounds of sirens and explosions,
12:29with many grabbing their phones and rushing to the windows to capture the unfolding chaos on camera.
12:34Footage and images shared online in the subsequent minutes showed a scene of devastation,
12:39with thick black plumes of smoke rising up and filling the city's skies,
12:43and a local logistics centre was hurriedly evacuated out of fear that more drones were headed right for it.
12:48Further east, the city of Domodevo, home to one of Moscow's major airports,
12:53was also about to feel the full wrath of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces,
12:56as their drones soared through the skies and rained down on another important logistics location,
13:02the Yuzhnaya Vrata Industrial Park.
13:04There, Ukraine's drones sparked several fires and explosions,
13:08with one of their primary targets being a warehouse belonging to the Wildberries retail giant.
13:13This came in the wake of several prior attacks on Wildberries warehouses,
13:17with President Zelensky explaining that the company's facilities are being used by Russia
13:20to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.
13:25This action, in effect, makes Wildberries centres viable military targets,
13:29and Ukraine clearly intends to continue disrupting the company's operations,
13:33unless or until it decides to stop playing an active role in supporting the Kremlin's war machine.
13:38Several warehouses were reportedly destroyed in the wake of the Ukrainian drone strike,
13:42with Zelensky taking to X to share his views on the attack, writing,
13:46Our long-range sanctions have produced results against logistics facilities and an oil depot.
13:51Thank you to the warriors of the Unmanned Systems Forces, our intelligence services,
13:55the missile forces and artillery, and the special operations forces.
13:59We are responding, justly, to every Russian strike against our cities and communities.
14:04This war must be brought to an end,
14:06and that is only possible by increasing the pressure on the sole cause of this war, Russia.
14:12Arguably the most important impact of this attack wasn't the actual damage done,
14:15or the hefty repair bills left for the Kremlin to cover after seeing several of their facilities go up in
14:20flames.
14:20It was the psychological impact.
14:23The millions of residents of Moscow were once more faced with the harsh reality
14:27that their city wasn't as safe as it was supposed to be.
14:30They got a small taste of what Kiev's inhabitants have been forced to endure for years,
14:34while their president, Vladimir Putin, was left red-faced after spending years hyping up his country's air defences,
14:40and claiming that Moscow was one of the best protected cities on the planet.
14:43Yet again, Putin's propaganda was proven false,
14:46as hundreds of Ukrainian drones eased past the capital's protections and entered its airspace.
14:52And once more, Russia felt the fire and the fury of the war come home.
14:56The more kinds of strikes occur, the angrier and more frightened the Russian public will become,
15:01and the madder they get, the more they're going to turn against Putin,
15:04who will see as popularity continue to decline,
15:06as greater numbers of his former supporters demand his removal from power.
15:10Ukraine, meanwhile, proved on the night of July 19th
15:13that it has the power and resources to hit Russia in the places that matter most.
15:18Kiev's drones are no longer reserved for frontline firefights or precision strikes in the occupied regions.
15:23They can travel literally hundreds of miles over the border and into Russia's regions,
15:28and the enemy's defences clearly aren't sufficient to stop them.
15:31The Ukrainian people have been forced to sleep with one eye open for years now,
15:35constantly under threat of aerial attacks that could come at a moment's notice.
15:39Russians in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, meanwhile,
15:43were about to go about their regular lives,
15:45knowing the conflict was going on, but believing it was too far away to ever impact them.
15:49At last, that illusion has been shattered.
15:52Now, to see another breakdown of incredible military tactics and precision,
15:56click the video on your screen right now,
15:58and I'll see you on the next battlefield.
16:01I'll see you on the next battlefield.
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