Russian air defense fends off large-scale drone attack by Ukraine

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, incoming drones were shot down over more than a dozen Russian regions

In a large-scale Ukrainian attack on Russian territory, a total of 158 drones were shot down or intercepted by electronic warfare during the night, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

According to a statement from the ministry on Sunday morning, drones were shot down over more than a dozen Russian regions.

“In an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using unmanned aerial vehicles,” Russian air defenses said they had taken out 46 drones over the Kursk region, 34 over the Bryansk region, 28 over the Voronezh region and 14 over the Belgorod region.

Moscow was also the target of an attack: seven drones were shot down over the Moscow region and two more over the capital itself, the statement said.

According to the ministry, eight drones were destroyed in the Ryazan region, five in the Kaluga region, four in the Lipetsk region and three in the Tula region.

One or two drones were also shot down over the Tambov, Smolensk, Oryol, Tver and Ivanovo oblasts, it said.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Ukrainian attack destroyed at least 11 drones near or inside the capital.

Two drones were shot down near the Moscow oil refinery in the southeast of the city, he said. One of the unmanned aircraft crashed into an engine building, the mayor noted, adding that firefighters were extinguishing the fire.

Three drones also targeted the power plant in the Kashira state district, said Mikhail Shuvalov, head of the Kashira district in the Moscow region. There were no injuries or damage, he added.

Kyiv intensified its drone attacks on Russia in January, targeting primarily energy infrastructure but also residential areas. Moscow responded by adding Ukrainian power plants to the list of legitimate military targets. Most of Ukraine's non-nuclear power plants have since been disabled or destroyed by Russian attacks.

In mid-August, a major Ukrainian drone attack took place on Russian territory, in which 117 drones were destroyed by air defenses. Another attack just over a week ago involved 45 drones, 11 of which targeted Moscow, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

(RT.com)