Ukraine launched a significant drone attack on Moscow on Wednesday, with at least 11 drones intercepted and shot down by Russian air defenses. Russian officials described this as one of the largest drone strikes on the capital since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
The conflict, which has primarily been a drawn-out battle involving artillery and drones across eastern Ukraine’s fields, forests, and villages, escalated on August 6 when Ukraine sent thousands of troops into Russia’s western Kursk region.
For several months, Ukraine has been conducting a damaging drone campaign against Russia’s refineries and airfields. Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, has seen fewer drone attacks on the Moscow region, home to over 21 million people.
Russia’s defense ministry reported that air defenses destroyed 45 drones across Russian territory, including 11 over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk region, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga, and two over Kursk. Some drones were shot down over Podolsk, a city 38 km (24 miles) south of the Kremlin in the Moscow region, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
“This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever,” Sobyanin stated on Telegram early Wednesday. He credited Moscow’s layered defense system with successfully repelling all the enemy UAVs.
Despite the attacks, life in Moscow appeared normal, with cafes, restaurants, and shops bustling with activity. President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in the Kremlin.
Two Russian citizens, speaking anonymously to Reuters, expressed confidence in Moscow’s defenses, suggesting that Ukraine was “playing with fire” by attacking both Moscow and the Kursk region.
In eastern Ukraine, Russia continues to advance, controlling about 18% of the territory while fending off Ukraine’s incursions into the Kursk region, which is the largest foreign attack on Russian soil since World War II.
Russian media broadcast unverified footage of drones being shot down in the Moscow region, with fiery explosions lighting up the dawn sky. Moscow’s airports—Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky—temporarily limited flights but resumed normal operations by 0330 GMT, according to Russia’s aviation watchdog.
Sobyanin reported no injuries or damage from the drone attacks. Similarly, the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, confirmed there were no casualties or damage in his region.
Russia’s RIA state news agency reported that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders Moscow. In the Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev stated that air defense forces intercepted and destroyed a Ukrainian missile, with no injuries reported.
The Russian defense ministry did not mention the incidents in Tula or Rostov in its statement. Ukraine’s military claimed it had struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system in the Rostov region overnight.
Reuters could not independently verify these reports.
The drone attack on Moscow was comparable to a May 2023 incident when at least eight drones were intercepted over the capital—a strike that President Putin described as a Ukrainian attempt to provoke and intimidate Russia.
In the Kursk region, Russian war bloggers reported intense fighting along the front lines, with Ukraine having gained control of at least 450 square km (175 square miles) of Russian territory.
