Russia says Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow foiled

Russia says it shot down 250 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow over the weekend; Authorities say it is the largest attempted attack on the Russian capital in at least a year.

“Over the last two days, air defense forces have destroyed about 250 enemy UAVs on the direct approach to Moscow and on the second line towards Moscow,” Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement on Telegram. he said.

The war in Ukraine and now the war in Iran have demonstrated the effectiveness of relatively inexpensive drones that can attack distant targets, from oil infrastructure to major population centers, at a fraction of the cost of a fighter jet.

While Russia is pounding Ukraine with artillery and drones, Ukraine is striking deep into Russia with sabotage groups and drones, killing Russian generals and attacking oil refineries and oil pipelines.

Russia’s aviation watchdog said Moscow’s main airports had imposed flight restrictions during the weekend offensive, but those restrictions were later lifted.

There was no loss of life.

Sobyanin thanked the Russian armed forces for their work.

Reuters reporters said they heard loud explosions in Moscow and the Moscow region over the weekend.

Moscow, together with the surrounding Moscow region, has a population of approximately 22 million.

There has been no statement from Ukraine yet.

Ukrainian officials said Russia launched a rare daylight attack on Kiev using what appeared to be upgraded drones on Monday, setting off multiple explosions in the city and crashing drone debris into the capital’s main square.

Ukrainian air defense units shot down 194 of 211 Russian drones, the air force said, noting that the morning attack was unusual in its timing and involved different types of drones targeting the central district of Kiev.

Drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital often occur at night because drones are harder to detect in the dark.

“About 30 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types were targeting the Kiev region,” air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

“The not-so-good news is that these drones have communication channels (mesh networks and other channels) that the enemy can use to control them. The better news is that almost all of them have been shot down.”

In the past, Russia has frequently used pre-programmed unmanned aerial vehicles, which cannot be used all at once in flight, for long-range attacks.

Ihnat said experts are working in the fields to determine the types of drones used.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris fell in the busy Shevchenkivskyi district in the center and two other areas in the west of the capital.

Reuters eyewitnesses said that the explosions occurred in the city as residents flocked to the shelters.

Reuters television footage showed police officers examining what appeared to be drone debris near the Independence Monument in Kiev’s main square.

No casualties were reported in Kiev, officials said.