On the evening of May 16, 2026, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported three times that attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying toward the capital had been repelled. At 20:57 PM, he wrote: "An attack by three more UAVs flying toward Moscow has been repelled." At 21:40 PM, the message followed: "The Ministry of Defense's air defenses shot down one UAV flying toward Moscow." At 22:15 PM, the mayor added: "Two UAVs have been destroyed." In each case, Sobyanin emphasized that emergency services were working at the impact sites. There were no reports of casualties or damage on the ground.

The massive drone attack on the Moscow region is part of a wave of Ukrainian strikes on Russian regions that has been ongoing for four days.