Russia on Wednesday says its anti-air defenses have successfully thwarted a major Ukrainian drone attack against the capital of Moscow, having shot down eleven inbound drones in total.
“The echeloned defense of Moscow against enemy UAVs made it possible to repel all attacks. This was one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow with the help of drones of all time,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a Telegram post early Wednesday morning.
Russia’s defense ministry said the effort to target the capital was part of a broader cross-border attack which included 45 drones total sent by Ukraine across different regions overnight, including:
- 11 shot down over the Moscow region
- 23 intercepted over the Bryansk region
- 6 over Belgorod,
- 3 over the Kaluga region
- 2 over Kursk
Reuters noted that some of the drones were downed over the city of Podolsk, which lies some 24 miles south of the Kremlin. There have been no initial reports of injuries or damage due to the drone attack on the capital. Separately the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz, cited a “mass” attack on his region which included all 23 drones intercepted.
Kremlin officials likely see this brazen attack on the capital as but a new extension of the Kursk incursion. While it’s certainly not the first drone attack on Moscow since the war began, it could mark the start of more consistent efforts to reach Moscow with UAVs.
President Zelensky has meanwhile been busy demanding that the West lift all restrictions for using long-range missiles inside Russian territory.
