Ukraine Hits Moscow’s Space Communications Node for Second Time

Ukraine struck a space communications center near Moscow for the second time on Tuesday, June 30, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky, in a Telegram report, described the target as a special satellite communications facility used for reconnaissance and coordination of Russia’s forces in Ukraine.

He added that the facility is located more than 500 kilometers (311 miles) from Ukraine’s state border.

According to Zelensky, it is the largest ground-based satellite communications complex in Russia and plays a key role in military communications, including controlling satellite relays used by the Russian defense ministry for command, reconnaissance, and troop coordination.

He added that Ukrainian forces had previously struck four similar Russian communications sites, including in both the Moscow and Vladimir regions.

“We are gradually implementing our long-range sanctions plan and making it as difficult as possible for the aggressor state to conduct aggressive operations against Ukraine and occupy our territories,” he wrote on Telegram, without specifying the damage caused in the latest strike.

Zelensky also said Ukraine is preparing further operations against similar Russian facilities.

Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), also commented on the operation, confirming the USF’s involvement in a sarcastic update.

“Wormish space communication will continue to ‘evolve’ into quantum. For the second time in a week, the USF Birds have crammed into a space communication station in Moscow. The subscriber is out of range,” Brovdi wrote.

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Long-range strikes against Moscow and space facilities

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine’s General Staff reported the results of a previous strike on the Dubna Space Communications Center, saying analysis confirmed a hit on the hardware and modular complex of a 32-meter (105-foot) MARK-IV antenna used for satellite communications, as well as damage to an adjacent technical building.

The General Staff also said the strike damaged the plant’s main production and administrative building, including partial destruction of one wall.

It added that the facility houses central communications hardware, ground control systems, and the satellite network’s main control panel.

On Tuesday, Russia said its air defenses intercepted 419 Ukrainian drones in one of the latest large-scale cross-border attacks, including 56 drones reportedly shot down on approach to Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defense units began intercepting drones heading toward the capital around 4 a.m. local time. By morning, he said 56 had been destroyed before reaching Moscow but reported no casualties or damage in the Russian capital.

The attacks prompted temporary closures at Moscow’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports.

Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said a drone crash in the town of Yegoryevsk set a private home on fire, killing a six-month-old child. Two children and two adults were hospitalized.

Russia’s defense ministry said a total of 419 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across 18 regions and Russian-occupied Crimea.

Residents also reported explosions in cities including Tula, Novorossiysk, and Ryazan.

The latest wave came just days after Moscow claimed it had downed 660 Ukrainian drones from Thursday to Friday, one of the highest reported totals since the start of the war.