Ukraine launches biggest drone attack yet on Moscow

Moscow: Ukraine has launched a major drone attack on Moscow and five other Russian regions, officials here reported, forcing three airports to temporarily halt operations.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted 84 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, Kaluga, Kursk and Tula regions on Sunday. Thirty-four of those drones were shot down over the Moscow region, the ministry said – making it the largest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow since Russia invaded the country more than two years ago.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported drones being shot down shortly after 7am local time. Andrey Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said in a Telegram post that there had been a “massive drone attack”. A 52-year-old woman was hospitalised with shrapnel injuries and burns to her face, neck and hands and was in intensive care, he said.

The Defence Ministry said, “falling debris in three settlements” injured five people and caused four house fires.

Unverified videos circulating on Russian Telegram channels appeared to show significant damage following the attacks, with dark smoke billowing from several houses and forests and cars and residential buildings on fire. Social media was flooded with users posting footage of drones flying over their district.

Moscow’s Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, and Sheremetyevo airports briefly suspended flight operations, with 36 flights diverted, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency reported.

Ukrainian officials have not commented publicly on the attack. The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said its drone unit “inflicted fire damage on ammunition warehouses” of a military logistics centre in Bryansk, in south-western Russia.

Ukraine’s allies have restricted its forces from using Western weapons systems for long-range strikes on Russian territory, which Kyiv says would limit Russia’s capacity to carry out attacks on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure.

But the restrictions do not extend to Ukraine’s domestically produced weapons systems. In recent months, Ukraine has used its drones to carry out several strikes deep within Russia.

On September 1, Russia shot down 158 drones – including 11 over Moscow and the surrounding region – which targeted power plants and oil refineries, with fires breaking out at several facilities, including in the capital.

On Saturday, Ukrainian drones struck a chemical plant in the Tula region, Ukrainian intelligence officials said. Earlier in the week, they hit a naval base in the city of Kaspiysk on the Caspian Sea, almost 1600 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday that Russia attacked overnight with a “record number” of drones across the country and damaged buildings. Oleh Kiper, governor of the southern Odessa region, said two people were hospitalised with injuries.

The last major Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow took place on September 10, killing one person and wounding eight. Russia’s Defence Ministry said at the time that 20 drones were shot down in and around Moscow.

For its part, the AP reported, Russia launched a record 145 drones into Sunday, Ukraine said. Kyiv said its air defences downed 62 of those.

The Washington Post