Russia thwarts Ukraine's 'biggest ever drone raid on Moscow'

MOSCOW

Russia on Wednesday reported a massive Ukrainian drone attack near the capital Moscow, which local authorities described as "the biggest ever drone raid on Moscow."

According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, at least 11 drones were shot down by the Russian air defense systems on the approach to the capital. The attack lasted four hours, from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. Moscow time (0000-0400GMT), he added.

The Defense Ministry later confirmed that 45 drones were destroyed overnight across several Russian regions, including 11 over Moscow region, 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.

Three Moscow airports, including Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky, halted operations late Tuesday night due to an air raid alert.

Ukraine has yet to respond to Russia's claims, while dependent verification is challenging due to the ongoing conflict.