Russia was the target overnight of the biggest drone attack it has sustained in months, a day after firing the heaviest barrage of loitering munitions at Ukraine in the 22-month war so far.
The Russian defence ministry reported 24 drones shot down overnight and early on Sunday morning across at least four regions, including Moscow.
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Russia launches missile drills to test its ability to deliver ‘massive’ retaliatory nuclear strike
Russia launches missile drills to test its ability to deliver ‘massive’ retaliatory nuclear strike
Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of the Russian capital, said on his Telegram channel that several drones had been aimed at Moscow, calling it a “massive attack”. Three Moscow-area airports imposed flight restrictions that were later lifted.
In Tula region, south of the capital, a drone hit a flat in a residential building with one person mildly injured, the regional government said on its social media account. Drones were also reported in the Kaluga, Bryansk, Smolensk and Tver regions.
The strikes were the heaviest targeted at Russia in at least two months, excluding recent attacks on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. It was the first time Moscow had been attacked since the summer.
Russia launches ‘most massive’ drone attack on Ukraine since war began: Kyiv
Russia launches ‘most massive’ drone attack on Ukraine since war began: Kyiv
Apart from the drones, two Ukrainian S-200 surface-to-air missiles converted to strike targets on the ground were detected and downed over the Sea of Azov, the defence ministry reported on its Telegram channel.
The attacks followed Russian strikes against Ukraine on Saturday as the nation marked the 90th anniversary of the year-long Soviet-era famine known as the Holodomor orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Russia fired the biggest barrage of loitering munitions in the conflict so far, with 71 of 75 drones shot down by Ukraine’s air defence. An air alert was active in Kyiv for about six hours.
The intensity of the Russian attacks receded on Sunday, with another nine drones reported by Ukraine’s Air Force on Telegram.