Key Points
- Air defences intercepted 81 drones near Moscow.
- Residential buildings damaged in two towns.
- No casualties were immediately reported.
ISLAMABAD: More than 390 drones targeted Russia’s Moscow region overnight, local officials said on Tuesday, marking one of the largest aerial assaults on the Russian capital since the war in Ukraine began more than four years ago.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 390 drones were detected heading towards the region between late Monday and early Tuesday. Russian air defence systems destroyed 81 drones as they approached the capital, he added. Most of the drones were intercepted before reaching the city, he said in a post on Telegram.
Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said the attacks damaged residential buildings in the town of Chekhov and the village of Vaulovo. Images shared by the governor showed broken windows and smoke rising from the upper floors of an apartment building in Chekhov.
Local authorities said there were no immediate reports of casualties. Russian officials also reported intercepting drones over several other locations in the region, including Podolsk, Domodedovo and Kolomna.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the reported attacks. Kyiv has increasingly relied on domestically produced long-range drones to strike military, industrial and logistics targets deep inside Russia.
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Ukrainian authorities argued that such operations are a response to Moscow’s continued missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
The conflict, now in its fifth year, began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has evolved into one of Europe’s deadliest wars since World War Two.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded on both sides, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced, and vast areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have been devastated.
Drones warfare
Drone warfare has emerged as a defining feature of the conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine deploying increasingly sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance, attacks on military installations and strikes far behind enemy lines.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of targeting civilian areas, allegations Ukraine denies, saying it focuses on assets supporting Russia’s war effort.
The latest barrage came as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled despite intermittent negotiations and growing international calls for a ceasefire.
