RT quoted Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin as saying that Russian air defense forces have blocked one of Ukraine's largest unmanned aerial attacks (UAVs) on Moscow. There were no reports of casualties or damage on the ground.
sobyanin reported the destruction of the first UAV near the city of Podolsk, about 40 km south of Moscow, at around 3 a.m. on August 21. He later said two other UAVs were shot down in the area, adding that preliminary information showed no casualties or damage.
In a series of announcements that followed for about an hour, sobyanin said that a number of other drones were destroyed, bringing the total to 11. He did not specify the location of the downed UAVs or the purpose of the raid.
Moscows existing multi-layered defense system against enemy UAVs has helped repel all attacks successfully... This is one of the largest drone strikes on Moscow to date. We are still monitoring the situation, Sobyanin said.
A few hours later, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Kiev government had attempted a terrorist attack by drones, adding that Moscow alone had 11 UAVs shot down.
The ministry noted that a total of 45 drones were destroyed overnight in Russian sky, most of which were shot down over the border area of Bryansk Oblast.
Ukraine has periodically targeted the Russian capital - more than 500 km from the front line - with drone strikes, although most of the UAVs were disabled before reaching the target. Some of the strikes targeted Moscow's government buildings and information technology zones.
One of the most notable attacks came in May 2023, when Russia accused Ukraine of launching two drones into the Kremlin with the intention of assassinating President Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader was not present at the Kremlin at the time.
