MOSCOW (news agencies) — Russian authorities said Wednesday that Moscow came under the largest attack yet by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, and that it destroyed all of them.
Russia destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said. It said 11 were destroyed over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk region, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two over Kursk.
“This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel. He said all of the drones were destroyed because strong defenses have been created around the capital.
Some Russian social media channels shared videos of drones apparently being destroyed by air defense systems, which then set off car alarms.
Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, said there was a “mass” attack on his region but that 23 drones were destroyed.
The drone attacks come as Ukrainian forces are continuing to push into Russia’s western Kursk region.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said in its daily report late Tuesday that the Ukrainians have made additional advances in their incursion, now in its third week. It noted that Ukrainian forces appear to be striking Russian pontoon bridges and pontoon engineering equipment over the Seym River in an area west of the Kurst oblast.
The daring incursion into Russia has raised morale in Ukraine and changed the dynamic of the fighting. But the gains there come as Ukraine continues to lose ground in its eastern industrial region of Donbas.
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