The largest drone attack to date targets Moscow, targeting Ukraine.
In its largest drone strike on the Russian capital to yet, Ukraine targeted the Moscow region on Tuesday. The attack resulted in the death of a minimum of one woman, the destruction of numerous homes, and the forced cancellation of almost fifty flights from airports in the Moscow area.
The largest nuclear power in the world, Russia, claimed to have shot down at least 20 Ukrainian strike drones as they swooped over the Moscow region, home to over 21 million people, and 124 more over eight additional areas.
Near Moscow, at least one person died, according to Russian authorities. Nearly fifty planes were rerouted and three of Moscow's four airports were closed for longer than six hours.
According to Kyiv, Russia—which invaded the country with tens of thousands of soldiers in February 2022—attacked it with 46 drones over night, 38 of which were destroyed.
Residents told Reuters that the drone assaults on Russia caused damage to many high-rise apartment complexes in the Moscow region's Ramenskoye area, putting units on fire. In Ramenskoye, a 46-year-old woman lost her life and three others were hurt, according to Andrei Vorobyov, regional administrator of Moscow.
Fire and booms were heard when the residents woke up.
A resident of the neighborhood named Alexander Li told Reuters, "I looked out the window and saw a ball of fire." "The shockwave blew out the window." A homeowner named Georgy, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that in the wee hours of the morning, he noticed a drone flying outside his building.
"I saw everything when I pulled back the veil and it hit the building right in front of my eyes," he remarked. "My family and I went outside to run."
Based on government figures, the Ramenskoye area, located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, is home to about 25,000 people.
The Russian defense ministry reported that tens more drones were shot down over different locations, while over seventy drones were downed over the Bryansk region. There were no recorded casualties or damage.
Drone war
With Russia pushing farther into eastern Ukraine, Kyiv has turned the tables on Moscow by launching a cross-border assault on the western Kursk region of Russia on August 6 and by launching increasingly significant drone operations that penetrate deep into Russian territory.
Along the 1,000 km (620 mile) heavily constructed front line in southern and eastern Ukraine, the fight has mostly been a grinding artillery and drone war with hundreds of thousands of men.
Both Moscow and Kiev have made an effort to acquire and create new drones, use them in creative ways, and find novel techniques to take them down, such as sophisticated electronic jamming devices or shotguns.
In order to assault targets like tanks and energy infrastructure like refineries and airfields, both sides have increased their own manufacture and assembly while converting low-cost commercial drones into lethal weapons.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has promised a retaliatory strike in reaction to the Ukrainian drone operations, calling them "terrorism" because they target civilian infrastructure. Putin has attempted to shield Moscow from the brutality of the conflict.
Large Russian cities like Moscow have mostly avoided the fighting. Over the past 2.5 years, Russia has bombarded Ukraine with thousands of missiles and drones, killing many of civilians, destroying most of the nation's energy infrastructure, and causing damage to both residential and commercial assets.
Although Kyiv's Western backers have stated they do not desire a direct conflict between Russia and the NATO military alliance led by the United States, Ukraine claims it has the right to strike back far into Russia. Regarding Tuesday's strikes, Ukraine hu did not immediately respond. Targeting civilians is denied by both parties.
The attack on Tuesday comes after drone strikes that Ukraine initiated in early September, mostly aimed against Russian oil and electrical infrastructure. Authorities in the Tula region, which borders Moscow to the north, reported that a gasoline and energy facility was struck by a drone debris, but the facility's "scientific activity" was unaffected.
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