MOSCOW — Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 32 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022, forcing flights to be diverted from three of the city’s major airports and injuring at least one person.
Russian air defences shot down 32 drones flying towards Moscow over the Ramenskoye and Kolomensky districts of the Moscow region, as well as in Domodedovo city, home to one of the city’s biggest airports, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
“32 drones flying to Moscow have been destroyed,” Sobyanin said.
He reported no major damage, though Russia’s federal air transport agency said the airports of Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovo had diverted flights.
The airports have since resumed their operations, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million people, is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe, alongside Istanbul.
The Ramenskoye district, some 45 km (30 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, was last targeted in September in what was then Ukraine’s biggest attack on the Russian capital, when Russian air defence units destroyed 20 drones.
Unverified video posted on Russian Telegram channels showed drones buzzing across the skyline.
Russian officials reported multiple Ukrainian drone attacks in other regions, among them the Kaluga, Bryansk and Orlov regions.
REUTERS
