A group of drones is believed to have targeted a Russian army base outside Moscow early Wednesday, the latest in a string of attacks near the Russian capital in recent weeks, authorities and state media reported.
“In the village of Kalininets today, two drones crashed at approximately 5:30 and 5:50 a.m. on approach to a military warehouse,” Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said, adding that “military countermeasures” had brought down the drones.
Russia’s Defense Ministry later confirmed that three drones were involved in the attack, which it called an “act of terrorism” carried out by Ukraine.
Neither Vorobyov nor the Defense Ministry specified the target of the attack.
The village of Kalininets — located some 60 kilometers southwest of Moscow — is the base of Russia’s 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
An anonymous law enforcement source cited by the state-run TASS news agency claimed the division was one of the drones’ targets.
The source said Russian electronic warfare systems were used to down two of the drones near the army base, while the third crashed in the nearby village of Lukino.
Authorities said no one had been injured in the incident and that the drone debris was being inspected.
Russian authorities have become increasingly preoccupied with drones following the May 3 attack on the Kremlin, which they call an attempted assassination by Kyiv on Putin.
A drone attack targeting Moscow on May 30 was by far the largest wave launched against Russia since it invaded Ukraine last year.
Although Russian authorities said eight unmanned aerial vehicles were involved in the late-May attack, media sources close to the state security services put the figure at over 30 drones.
Ukraine denied its role in the strikes.
Citing unnamed U.S. officials who had spoken to their counterparts in Ukraine, CNN reported in early June that Kyiv is cultivating a network of agents and sympathizers in Russia to carry out sabotage work against Russian targets as Ukrainian forces launch their long-awaited counteroffensive.
Russian law enforcement authorities have stepped up random car inspections and announced a series of restrictions on drone flying after the embarrassing incidents that exposed gaps in Russia’s domestic security.
