Ukraine launched one of the largest drone strikes in Moscow on Wednesday (21 August), with Russian air defense units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital, the city’s mayor said.
Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said some drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk. The city in the Moscow Region is about 38 km south of the Kremlin.
“The Defense Ministry’s air defense systems continue to repel enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) attacks,” Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app at 4:43 a.m. (0143 GMT).
“This is one of the biggest attempts to attack Moscow using drones. We are monitoring the situation continuously,” he said.
According to initial reports, no injury or damage was reported after the attack, he said.
Ukraine has launched one or two drones targeting Moscow in recent months, causing no significant damage.
However, Wednesday’s attack appears to be bigger than the May 2023 attack, when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital in an attack President Vladimir Putin said was an attempt by Kiev to intimidate and provoke Russia.
Russian officials rarely reveal the full extent of the attacks, with its air defense units reporting only drones destroyed.
Both Ukraine and Russia rarely disclose the full extent of damage caused by their attacks, unless residential or civilian infrastructure is damaged or civilians die.
Wednesday’s attack on Moscow was part of a wider Ukraine drone attack on Russia with an air defense system, and Russian officials said they destroyed 18 drones in the border region of Bryansk and individual drones and missiles in other regions.
Alexander Bogomaz, the region’s governor, wrote in a telegram that there were no casualties or damage after the attack in Russia’s southwestern border region of Bryansk.
Russia’s RIA state news agency also reported that two drones were destroyed in the Tula region, which borders Moscow Region to the north.
Separately, Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, said air defense forces had destroyed a missile launched by Ukraine in the area and there were no injuries.
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 its aim is to destroy infrastructure vital to Moscow’s war effort. It also says its attacks are in response to Russia’s continued aggression on Ukrainian territory.
Read more with Euractiv
