News
Ukraine's Deep-Russia Drone Raids Point To A Growing Long-Range UAV Fleet
Recent attacks on Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian regions show Ukraine using a mixed long-range drone arsenal, with Fire Point FP-1, Bars-family systems, Bober and Liutyi among the cataloged UAVs tied to the campaign.
2014 Russia-Ukraine War
Timeline
Key Events
Early Moscow drone attack reported
The Guardian reported a Moscow drone attack and said at least one drone appeared to be a Ukrainian-made UJ-22, an early public model identification in attacks near the Russian capital.
Tatarstan sites struck far from Ukraine
AP reported Ukrainian drone strikes on the Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk areas of Tatarstan, roughly 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine, showing the reach of Ukraine's deep-strike drone effort.
Sources: AP Tatarstan Drone Strike
General Staff names FP-1 and Bars-family drones
Ukrainska Pravda reported Ukraine's General Staff statement that Bars RS-1, Fire Point FP-1 and BARS-SM Gladiator were used against facilities in Moscow Oblast on the night of May 16-17.
Moscow refinery hit again
AP and The Guardian reported that Ukrainian drones struck Moscow's Kapotnya oil refinery for a second time in a week, with airport disruption and large Russian interception claims.
Sources: AP Moscow Refinery Strike, Guardian Moscow Refinery Strike, RFE/RL Moscow Refinery Strike
St. Petersburg-area oil and military targets reported
AP reported Ukrainian drone strikes on St. Petersburg-area oil infrastructure and a military target at Kronstadt, extending the deep-strike pattern beyond Moscow.
Sources: AP St Petersburg Strike
Moscow Raids Show The Mix
Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against targets inside Russia has expanded from occasional symbolic raids into a recurring strike effort against refineries, air-defense sites, command nodes and military-industrial facilities. The most visible recent case was the June 18, 2026 attack on Moscow's Kapotnya oil refinery, which the Associated Press and The Guardian described as one of Ukraine's largest drone attacks on the Russian capital since the full-scale invasion began.
The exact model mix in that Moscow refinery raid remains partly unresolved in public reporting. Russian and local officials confirmed drones reached Moscow-area targets and disrupted airports, while Ukrainian officials framed the strikes as part of a wider campaign against Russia's war economy. For catalog purposes, that means the June raid is best treated as a long-range one-way attack UAV operation, with specific model names carried only where reporting identifies them with attribution.
Sources: AP Moscow Refinery Strike, Guardian Moscow Refinery Strike, RFE/RL Moscow Refinery Strike
Named Systems In The Moscow-Region Set
The clearest recent public naming of Ukrainian drone types around Moscow comes from the May 16-17, 2026 Moscow Oblast strikes. Ukrainska Pravda, citing Ukraine's General Staff, reported that Ukrainian-made RS-1 Bars, Fire Point FP-1 and BARS-SM Gladiator drones were among the systems used against facilities in Moscow Oblast. Business Insider and Kyiv Post carried the same model list while describing the operation as part of Ukraine's effort to pressure Russian air defenses and military industry.
Those three systems matter because they show that Kyiv's deep-strike inventory is no longer limited to one airframe. Fire Point FP-1 is a long-range one-way attack UAV from a Ukrainian manufacturer whose systems have been tied to multiple deep-strike reports. Bars RS-1 and BARS-SM Gladiator point to a parallel jet-powered or drone-missile-style family that Ukrainian and defense reporting says has been used against targets around Moscow.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda General Staff Weapons List, Business Insider Moscow Drone Types, Kyiv Post Moscow-Region Strike, Defense News Fire Point Campaign
Bober And Liutyi Fill Out The Long-Range Fleet
Two earlier Ukrainian designs remain central to the public picture: the UJ-26 Bober, also known as Beaver, and the AN-196 Liutyi. The Bober is a pusher-propeller one-way attack UAV associated with deep strikes, and the catalog's Bober record cites H.I. Sutton's long-range UAV guide for its use against Moscow and other Russian targets. Ukrainian intelligence has also published later Bober strike footage from occupied Crimea, confirming the type's operational use in the war even when individual mainland Russia raids are harder to attribute conclusively.
Liutyi is the other major named system. Its catalog record ties it to Ukrainian long-range attacks on oil, industrial and military infrastructure, including reported strikes on refineries hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine. The pattern is important: when a Russian region reports a large wave of incoming drones, public evidence often identifies the strike only by target and broad UAV class, while Bober and Liutyi appear in the broader campaign reporting as repeatedly used Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones.
Sources: Covert Shores Ukrainian OWA Guide, Ukrainska Pravda Bober Crimea Strike, Defence Blog Liutyi Production, Business Insider Liutyi Refinery Campaign
Other Deep-Strike Drones Require Tighter Attribution
Other Ukrainian drone names appear in the deep-strike discussion but need tighter sourcing in a news article. The Guardian's May 30, 2023 Moscow report said at least one drone appeared to be a Ukrainian-made UJ-22, but that system is not currently one of the linked catalog weapon IDs. AQ-400 Scythe is cataloged as a Ukrainian long-range strike UAV and is relevant to the capability discussion, but the source set reviewed for this article did not provide a strong public tie between AQ-400 and a specific Moscow strike.
Converted light aircraft-style drones are another category. AP reported that Ukraine hit sites in Tatarstan on April 2, 2024, including the Yelabuga area and a refinery around 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine. Business Insider later described Russia's difficulty against slow ultralight-style drone aircraft in very long-range Ukrainian attacks. Those reports support the idea that Ukraine uses more than purpose-built UAVs, but without a cataloged A-22/Foxbat-style entry this article keeps those aircraft in the caveat section rather than the linked weapon list.
Sources: Guardian May 2023 Moscow Drone Attack, AP Tatarstan Drone Strike, Business Insider Ultralight Drone Report, Covert Shores Ukrainian OWA Guide
What The Campaign Is Targeting
The targets are consistent: fuel infrastructure, military-industrial sites, air-defense systems, ports, airfields and communications nodes. AP reported that repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries had contributed to a Russian summer fuel crunch, while a July 2026 AP report said Ukrainian drones struck St. Petersburg-area oil and military targets. The Guardian likewise framed the Moscow refinery strike as part of Ukraine's growing ability to hit deep inside Russia with domestically produced long-range drones.
That does not make every Russian interception claim or Ukrainian damage claim independently verified. Russian officials are useful for attack occurrence, airspace disruption and local damage reports; Ukrainian officials are useful for target rationale and broad campaign framing. Model-level identification is strongest where Ukrainian official statements or multiple defense reporters name a system, and weakest where a large raid is reported only as a wave of Ukrainian drones.
Sources: AP Russian Fuel Crisis, AP St Petersburg Strike, Guardian Moscow Refinery Strike, RFE/RL Moscow Refinery Strike