Ukraine Launches Massive Moscow Attack as Putin Departs for Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin departed for Beijing on May 18, 2026, amidst one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow since the start of the war, according to reporting by La Stampa.

The drone strike took place during the night between Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17, 2026. According to Corriere della Sera, more than 50 Ukrainian drones targeted the Moscow area, resulting in four deaths.

Reports indicate that a house in Khimki, located near Moscow, caught fire following the Ukrainian attack.

The military escalation coincided with Putin’s diplomatic travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping. The Kremlin stated it has high expectations for the visit.

Parallel to the events in Moscow, casualties were reported in the Donetsk region, which Russia annexed in 2022. Konstantin Zinchenko, the head of the Volnovakha district administration, informed TASS that a Ukrainian attack in Dmytrivka killed one civilian and wounded another.

Zinchenko further reported that Ukrainian forces attacked a gas station at the entrance of Volnovakha, though no casualties were recorded at that location.

On the diplomatic front, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stated on May 18, 2026, that Russia and the United States remain in constant contact, specifically regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

Galuzin told journalists that information regarding the next cycle of talks would be made public when new details emerge.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that a Russian drone struck a Chinese ship, asserting that Moscow could not have been unaware of the incident.

reports cited that Russian forces utilized 524 attack drones and 22 missiles, including cruise and ballistic types, in a separate strike operation.