Two Ukrainian drones headed toward Moscow were shot down Wednesday, Russian authorities said, the latest in a surge of drone attacks targeting the capital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app that “both [drones] were shot down by air defense,” noting that one was downed in the Domodedovo area on the southern outskirts of the city, while the second was shot down in the Minsk highway area, west of the capital.
He added that emergency services were on the ground responding to the incident.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine was behind the attack.
“Air defense destroyed two unmanned drones,” the ministry said, adding there were no reported casualties or damage.
The strikes are at least the third attack near Moscow over the past week, with Ukrainian drones downed on Sunday, in the Podolsky district on the capital’s outskirts, as well as Monday, near the Kaluga region, according to Russian officials.
Until a series of attacks in recent months, the Russian capital had not been targeted during the war in Ukraine, which has been raging for over 17 months.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it had downed seven drones — also near Kaluga, located less than 200 kilometers southwest of Moscow.
In late July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “war” was coming to Russia, with the country’s “symbolic centers and military bases” becoming targets.