TASS news agency quoted Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin as saying that about 620 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flew towards Moscow and the surrounding area from the evening of August 17 to 5 am on August 18 (Moscow time).
Mr. Sobyanin said that air defense forces destroyed 180 UAVs in the capital area. Emergency forces were deployed at locations where UAV debris fell. Authorities have not yet fully announced information about damage caused by the latest attack.
TASS assesses this as the largest-scale UAV attack targeting Moscow in the past 2 years, based on data released by the city government.
Data released by the Mayor of Moscow shows that UAV attacks targeting the Russian capital have appeared with a significant frequency recently.
According to Mr. Sobyanin, from the evening of August 15 to the morning of August 16, 201 UAVs were destroyed while flying towards Moscow.
One of the major waves took place from the evening of July 19 to the early morning of July 20, when more than 400 UAVs were believed to be heading towards Moscow and surrounding areas. Most were neutralized by air defense forces from a distance, while 85 were destroyed as they approached the capital.
At the end of July, the Russian capital continued to become the target of large-scale UAV waves. More than 390 UAVs were recorded heading towards this area on the night of July 27, while another wave took place from the evening of July 17 to the early morning of July 18 with more than 370 UAVs.
According to Mr. Sobyanin, the largest UAV attack targeting the capital before the above series of events occurred on March 11, 2025. At that time, 74 UAVs were shot down when approaching Moscow, while hundreds of other UAVs were destroyed at external defense lines.
UAV attacks targeting Moscow are taking place in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the region continuing to be monitored.
