In a significant escalation of hostilities, Ukraine carried out overnight drone attacks targeting Moscow and several other regions across Russia, resulting in the death of one person and causing damage to an agricultural enterprise in the country’s southwest, Russian authorities said on Friday.
In a detailed statement issued on the Telegram messaging app, Russia’s defence ministry said that its air defence systems had intercepted and downed a total of 155 Ukrainian drones between 11 p.m. on Thursday (2000 GMT) and 7 a.m. on Friday, including 11 drones that were headed towards the capital, Moscow.
Flight Operation Suspended Temporarily
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said late on Thursday that three of the four major airports serving the capital — Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky — had temporarily suspended operations as a precautionary measure due to the drone attacks, but normal flight services were later resumed after the situation stabilised.
A drone crashed onto the territory of an agricultural enterprise in the Lipetsk region, sparking a short-lived fire and killing one person and injuring another, regional governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.
Drones Destroyed
The Russian defence ministry stated that its air defence systems successfully destroyed four Ukrainian drones over the Lipetsk region, located in the country’s southwest. However, the ministry did not disclose the total number of drones launched by Ukraine, as it typically only reports the number of drones intercepted or destroyed by its own military units, without providing details on the full scale of the attacks.
Most of the drones overnight were destroyed over Russian regions bordering Ukraine: Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, the ministry added.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Kyiv says its attacks on the territory of Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts and are in response to Russia’s continued strikes on Ukraine throughout the war.
(With inputs from Reuters)
