Russia accused Ukraine of launching consecutive unmanned aerial attacks (UAVs) against the capital Moscow for three consecutive nights, from the night of July 16 to the morning of July 19. On the night of July 18 and early morning of July 19, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that Russian air defense forces had shot down a total of 13 UAVs believed to be Ukrainian. These UAVs were detected and intercepted from late July 18 to 1:50 a.m. on July 19.
Also in the afternoon and evening of July 18, at least 8 other UAVs believed to be of Ukraine were shot down in the Russian capital. At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that from 6:15 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. on July 18, a total of 87 UAVs were intercepted in various areas, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and many border provinces such as Belgorod,voronezh, Bryansk and Rostov.
The attacks did not cause any human casualties, according to local officials, as of the morning of July 19. However, Moscow Governor Andreivorobyov said that debris from the downed UAVs damaged several houses in the area.
sobyanin did not disclose information about property damage in the inner city of Moscow.
The UAV attack is believed to have begun shortly after US President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for Russia to sign a peace deal with Ukraine on July 14. A day later, at the White House, Mr. Trump answered the press about transferring long-range weapons to Kiev, and warned Ukraine not to target the Russian capital.
Up to now, Ukraine has not made any official comments regarding the above UAV attacks.
