In one of the most significant drone attacks on Moscow to date, Ukraine launched a large-scale strike on Wednesday, with Russian air defense units reportedly intercepting at least 10 drones targeting the capital. Moscow’s Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed that several of the drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, located approximately 38 kilometers (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
“The defense ministry’s air defense systems continue to repel enemy unmanned aerial vehicles attacks,” Sobyanin stated on the Telegram messaging platform. “This marks one of the largest drone attack attempts on Moscow. We are closely monitoring the situation.”
Preliminary reports indicate that there were no injuries or damage resulting from the attack.
While Ukraine has previously launched smaller drone attacks targeting Moscow, Wednesday’s strike is notably larger, surpassing an earlier attack in May 2023, during which at least eight drones were destroyed. At the time, President Vladimir Putin described the attack as Kyiv’s attempt to provoke and intimidate Russia.
Russian officials typically do not disclose the full scope of such attacks, only reporting the drones that their air defense systems successfully neutralize. Both Russia and Ukraine are also known to withhold the full extent of the damage from these strikes unless civilian infrastructure is impacted or casualties occur.
The Wednesday assault on Moscow was part of a broader Ukrainian drone offensive across Russia, with air defenses reportedly destroying 18 drones over the Bryansk region near the border, as well as additional drones and missiles in other regions. According to Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk, there were no casualties or damage reported in his region.
Russia’s RIA state news agency also reported that two drones were intercepted over the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to the north. In a separate incident, Vasily Golubev, the governor of the Rostov region in southwestern Russia, confirmed that air defense forces destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile in the area, with no reported injuries.
Reuters was unable to independently verify these reports, and there was no immediate response from Ukraine. Ukraine asserts that these strikes are in retaliation for Russia’s ongoing assaults on Ukrainian territory.
