Ukraine unleashes largest drone siege on Moscow in years
Ukraine launched more than 600 drones toward Moscow into the early hours of Tuesday, according to Russian authorities, which state media called the largest assault on the Russian capital in two years.
This comes just two days after Russian officials said the Moscow region had "suffered one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory," killing one man southeast of the capital, as Ukraine seeks to hammer home the impact of the long-running war to Russian citizens as far away from the frontlines as the Kremlin.
Between Monday evening and 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 620 drones were detected flying toward the broader Moscow region, according to the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Around 180 of these uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) were "destroyed" around Moscow, Sobyanin said. Separately, Moscow's regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said more than 150 drones were shot down in the area around the capital.
The overnight attack on Moscow was "the largest in the past two years," Russia's Tass state news agency reported.
Around 600 drones targeted Moscow between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Russian officials said at the weekend.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Moscow with long-range drones, hoping to stir up dissent among the Russian population as the Kremlin also steps up its own strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Ten people were killed and another 17 were injured in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region overnight after a Russian missile strike, the local governor said on Tuesday.
Russia's Wildberries online retailer—the country's equivalent to Amazon—said on Tuesday the Ukrainian drone assault caused "minor damage" to a logistics site in the Moscow region as debris struck the wall of the facility.
Russia's defense ministry said its air defenses had intercepted 791 drones overnight in 15 Russian regions, as well as over the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Azov and Black Seas.
The overall Ukrainian attack on Russian soil was one of the biggest so far this year, Tass reported.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.