Moscow [Russia], August 22: Russian air defences shot down 45 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, with 11 of them destroyed over the Moscow region, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Several of the unmanned Ukrainian aircraft came down just a few dozen kilometres south of the capital's city limits, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who described it as one of the largest attempts by Kiev so far to attack the city.
The airports at Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky in the south and east of Moscow were temporarily closed at night for safety reasons, according to the Rosaviatsiya air traffic control authority. The Defence Ministry said 23 drones were shot down in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.
There was initially no independent information nor details from the Ukrainian armed forces. Meanwhile, a missile was shot down in the southern Russian region of Rostov. According to initial findings, there were no casualties nor destruction in any of the cases.
In the late afternoon, an alarm was also sounded in the northern Russian harbour city of Murmansk due to possible drones. The airport there was closed for the time being.
Russia, which has been waging an all-out war against Ukraine for over two years, has repeatedly bombarded the neighbouring country with drone and missile strikes.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive about two weeks ago, advancing into the western Russian region of Kursk.
It is the first time that Kiev has shifted the war onto Russian soil. Russia continues to occupy large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday that Ukraine now controls 1,263 square kilometres and 93 settlements in the Kursk region.
The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, on Wednesday called Ukraine's Kursk offensive a "severe blow" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Borrell also appeared to argue in favour of lifting territorial restrictions on the use of western arms supplies by Ukraine.
Source: Qatar Tribune
