Russia says major Ukraine drone attack targeting Moscow thwarted by air defenses as Kursk incursion continues

Moscow — Moscow came under one of the largest attacks yet by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Wednesday, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the capital. Russia downed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Ministry of Defense said. It said 11 were destroyed over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk region, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two over Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have mounted an unprecedented incursion in recent weeks.

“This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel. He said strong defenses around the capital made it possible to shoot down all the drones before they could hit their intended targets.

Some Russian social media channels shared videos of drones apparently being destroyed by air defense systems, which then set off car alarms. 

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, reported a “mass” attack on his region but that 23 drones were destroyed.

While Ukraine has been bogged down in a land conflict in eastern Europe in which the Russians have been driving forward slowly at a heavy cost to both sides, Kyiv has also been attacking Russia with drones. Ukraine has targeted oil refineries and airfields in an attempt to weaken Russia’s fighting potential, and also has targeted the capital several times.

Drone attack on Moscow comes amid Ukraine’s Kursk incursion

The drone attacks come as Ukrainian forces are continuing to push into Russia’s western Kursk region. The daring incursion into Russia has raised morale in Ukraine with its surprising success and changed the dynamic of the fighting. Ukrainian troops brought CBS News correspondent Ian Lee right to Russia’s border this week, where the amount of massed military hardware suggested their offensive was not about to slow down.

Special forces have led the charge, enabling Ukraine to capture a claimed 500 square miles of Russian territory to create what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said will be a buffer zone to prevent Russian missile attacks on residents in the east of the country.

But it’s uncertain how long Ukraine will be able to hold the ground it has seized in Kursk. The incursion has opened up another front in a war that already has Ukrainian forces badly stretched. The gains in Kursk come as Ukraine continues to lose ground in its eastern industrial region of Donbas.

The Institute for the Study of War, a thinktank based in Washington, said in its daily report late Tuesday that the Ukrainians had made additional advances in their incursion, however, which now in its third week.

The Russian state news agency Tass reported that 31 people had died since Ukraine’s attack on Russia began on Aug. 6, citing an unnamed source in the medical service — figures which are impossible to verify. It said 143 people had suffered injuries, of whom 79 were hospitalized, including four children.

Ukraine’s attacks on three bridges over the Seym River in Kursk, in areas in does not control, could potentially trap Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian advance and the Ukrainian border. Already they appear to be slowing down Russia’s response to the Kursk incursion.

Ukrainian forces appear to be striking Russian pontoon bridges and pontoon engineering equipment over the Seym in an area west of the Ukrainian advance point, the Washington thinktank said.

Though few details are available, Ukraine appears to be seeking to hinder Russians from crossing the river. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed Wednesday by The Associated Press showed a significant fire on the Seym near the village of Krasnooktyabrskoe.

The blaze appeared on the north bank of the river on Tuesday, with another fire seemingly in the village itself. Such fires are common after strikes and often signify where ongoing front-line combat is taking place.