Ukrainian Drone Attack in Moscow Region Injures Two, Causes Disruption to Nearly 50 Flights
At least two people were injured on Monday when fragments of a Ukrainian drone shot down by Russian air defenses landed on a home in the Moscow region, according to the regional governor.
Russia claimed it jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Ruzsky district west of the capital and destroyed another nearby in the Istrinsky district. As a result, approximately 90 flights in and out of the capital were disrupted.
Arrivals and departures from Moscow’s four primary airports—Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky – were restricted, causing delays for 45 passenger planes and two cargo planes, according to the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia.
The governor of the Kaluga region, located south of Moscow, stated that a drone attack was also thwarted there. Mash, a Russian news channel on the Telegram messaging app, reported that the Kaluga region drone crash-landed on a military airfield, causing a crater and a brief fire.
Ukraine typically does not comment on who is responsible for attacks on Russian territory, but Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said on Monday that it oversaw an attack on the Russian Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region.
“We can state that groups coordinated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry succeeded at their work,” Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson of the agency, told the RBC-Ukraine news outlet.
“It is known that several enemy aircraft were damaged,” he said, declining to comment on whether the airfield was hit by drones. Asked about the attack on Moscow, he said that “the GUR is working” but refused to give details.
Russian officials have repeatedly warned that military drones could cause a major disaster while flying over Moscow, which has a population of nearly 22 million, and the surrounding region.
Escalating Tensions
Separately, the Russian Defence Ministry announced the downing of two drones in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine in less than an hour and a half.
The Russian defence ministry reported early on Tuesday that the Russian military jammed two more Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea on Monday night. They crashed into the sea 40 kilometres from the coast of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
No damage or injuries were reported in any of the attacks.
Reuters could not independently verify the various reports.
Drone air strikes have increased deep inside Russia since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Drone attacks on Russia’s capital have become more common in recent months.
It is unclear how the drone attacks will affect Russian citizens’ perceptions of the war. Polling indicates support for the Russian military operation in Ukraine remains high, around 75%, though there are questions over how accurate polling is in Russia.
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Source: REUTERS
