For Svetlana, the war in Ukraine had always felt distant — until a drone smashed into the side of her apartment building early Tuesday, bringing the conflict literally to her doorstep.
The war had largely remained confined to television screens, despite relentless state propaganda and widespread military recruitment. Authorities have sought to shield society — especially Moscow and its surrounding areas — from the war's destruction.
“You understand that it is war, but you don’t realize it properly,” Svetlana, wearing a winter coat with a fur collar, said. “But now, yes, it has come.”
In her town of Ramenskoye, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of central Moscow, police cordoned off an area where a drone had struck.
Svetlana, who supports the Kremlin's military campaign, said the attack shattered her sense of security.
“Yes, we were weaving camouflage nets, collecting humanitarian aid, accompanying fighters there, but we still didn’t realize it. Now it has come,” she said.
Nearby, Andrei, an electrician, was sweeping broken glass from his car, damaged by falling shrapnel after the drone crashed into the upper floors of his building.
"I'm scared for the children," he told AFP. "My six-year-old daughter was sleeping with me. She woke up crying from the noise."
Ukraine said the overnight drone barrage, which involved more than 300 UAVs, was meant to push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a ceasefire in the skies. However, the Kremlin has previously ruled out such a move.
Authorities in Kyiv framed the strikes as a small taste of what its people have endured for three years, with near-daily missile and drone attacks from Russia.
"There is not even any thought that tonight will be peaceful. It's scary," said Olga, a 21-year-old IT worker who lives next to one of the damaged buildings.
Woken at 5 a.m. by the explosion, she ran outside.
"People just have fear in their eyes," she told AFP, standing amid scattered debris.
Unlike in Ukraine — where air raid sirens sound almost nightly — there was no warning in Moscow or its suburbs.
"We don't understand what to do in such situations," Olga said.
"The news says that more and more drones are being shot down. It's terrifying to even go to sleep after such a thing," she added. "It could have been us."
The idea of peace, once seen as a possibility amid U.S. President Donald Trump's outreach to Moscow, now feels remote in Ramenskoye.
"In my opinion, this attack won't be the last," said retiree Sergei, blaming Ukraine's "bloodthirsty" European backers for supplying it with weapons.
For 75-year-old Yulia, who lives near the targeted building, the war has brought only frustration.
"My heart is weak. I don't believe there will be peace," she told AFP.
"Why can't they agree? Why not? What are they thinking about?" she asked through tears. "It's terrible."
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