Ukraine launches one of the largest drone attacks ever on Moscow – Euractiv

Ukraine launched one of the largest drone attacks ever on Moscow on Wednesday (August 21), with Russian air defence units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital, the mayor of Moscow said.

Podolsk Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said some drones were destroyed over the city, which is in the Moscow region, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.

“The air defence systems of the defence ministry continue to repel attacks by enemy drones,” Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app at 4:43 a.m. (0143 GMT).

“This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow using drones. We continue to monitor the situation.”

He said that according to initial information, there were no casualties or damage following the attacks.

Ukraine has launched several drones targeting Moscow in recent months, without causing significant damage.

But Wednesday’s attack appears to be larger than one in May 2023, when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital in an attack that President Vladimir Putin said was an attempt by Kyiv to intimidate and provoke Russia.

Russian officials rarely reveal the full scale of the attacks, only talking about drones destroyed by air defense units.

Ukraine and Russia rarely reveal the full extent of the damage caused by their attacks, unless they damage residential or civilian infrastructure, or kill civilians.

Russian officials said Wednesday’s attack on Moscow was part of a broader Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, with air defense systems also destroying 18 drones over the Bryansk border region and separate drones and missiles over other areas.

There were no reports of casualties or damage following the attack on the Bryansk border region in southwestern Russia, the region’s governor, Alexander Bogomaz, wrote on Telegram.

Russia’s state news agency RIA reported that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to the north.

Separately, Vasily Golubev, governor of the Rostov region in southwestern Russia, said air defense forces had destroyed a missile fired by Ukraine over the region, with no casualties reported.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

In recent months, Kyiv has stepped up its airstrikes on Russian territory, saying their goal is to destroy infrastructure essential to Moscow’s war effort. It also says its attacks are in response to ongoing Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory.

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