By Lidia Kelly
(Reuters) -Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on Moscow on Wednesday, the city’s mayor said, with Russian air defence units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital.
Some of the drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 kms (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
“The air defence systems of the defence ministry continue to repel enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) attacks,” Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app at 4:43 a.m. (0143 GMT).
“This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever. We continue to monitor the situation.”
He said that according to preliminary information, there were no injuries or damage in the aftermath of the attacks.
Ukraine has often launched one or two drones targeting Moscow in recent months, causing no substantial damage.
The Wednesday attack, however, seems larger than May 2023 attack when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital in an attack President Vladimir Putin said was Kyiv’s attempt to scare and provoke Russia.
Russian officials rarely disclose the full size of the attacks, reporting only drones that its air defence units destroy.
Both Ukraine and Russia also rarely disclose the full extent of the damage their attacks inflict, unless residential or civilian infrastructure is damaged, or civilians die.
The Wednesday attack on Moscow was part of a broader Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia with air defence system destroying also 18 drones over the border Bryansk region and separate drones and missiles over other regions, Russian officials said.
There were no casualties or damage reported in the aftermath of attack on the border Bryansk region in Russia’s southwest, Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the region wrote on Telegram.
Russia’s RIA state news agency reported also that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to its north.
Separately, Vasily Golubev, governor of the Rostov region in Russia’s southwest, said that air defence forces destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile over the region, with no injuries reported.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
In recent months, Kyiv has stepped up its air attacks on Russian territory, saying its aim is to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts. It also says that its attacks are in response to Russia’s continued strikes on Ukrainian territory.
