Russia claimed early Thursday it shot down 13 Ukrainian drones, including 11 near Crimea and two en route to Moscow, at a time when Russian-held areas are increasingly under attack.
“Two drones flying towards the city of Moscow were destroyed,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
One of the missiles aimed at the capital was shot down by Russian air defenses in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, the second in the Odintsovsky district of the Moscow region, the ministry reported, accusing Kiev of firing those missiles.
According to a message published on Telegram by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the two drones were shot down around 4 a.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT).
Also in Crimea, “near the city of Sevastopol, two drones were hit by deployed anti-aircraft equipment, nine others were neutralized by means of electronic warfare and crashed into the Black Sea before hitting the target,” according to the Defense Ministry.
The ministry said no casualties or damage were reported either near Moscow or in Crimea.
Attack multiplication
Ukrainian drone strikes have increased in Russian-controlled areas in recent weeks, often targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014.
On Wednesday, Russia announced that it shot down two Ukrainian drones en route to the Russian capital. On Monday, it was another Ukrainian plane that Moscow said it had destroyed in the Kaluga region after shooting down seven more there on Thursday.
Russian authorities also announced on Saturday that they had foiled a Ukrainian drone strike near Sevastopol, a major port and Russian base in Crimea.
In July, Ukrainian explosive devices blew up an ammunition depot on the peninsula, but also damaged the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia and is used in particular to transport equipment to the Russian military on the Ukrainian front.
Naval drones have also repeatedly targeted Russian ships in recent weeks, including an oil tanker on Saturday.
“War is coming to Russian territory (…) and it is an inevitable, natural and absolutely just process,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in late July.
“Danger”
They have long been contained, and in recent months Ukrainian attacks in border areas have become more frequent.
Just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the Russian village of Gorkovsky was hit by bombing, killing one and injuring four residents, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Wednesday.
In a speech to army officials on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke of a “multiplication” of “threats to military security” at Russia’s borders.
“These threats (…) require a quick and appropriate response,” he said.
In the Ukrainian bombing raids on Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian fighters in eastern Ukraine, three people were also killed and eleven others injured, the authorities deployed by the Russians said on Wednesday.
On the other side of the frontline in Dubno, northwestern Ukraine, a drone strike on Wednesday night destroyed a fuel depot with no casualties, the governor said. regional.
At least two people were killed and seven others wounded in a Russian attack on the southern city of Zaporizhia on Wednesday, according to Interior Minister Igor Klymenko.
As part of its counter-offensive, which has only managed to recapture a handful of villages so far, the Ukrainian army said on Wednesday it had “partial successes” in certain sectors, while Russian troops were still being attacked near Kupiansk. in the Northeast.