Two drones were shot down outside Moscow as they approached the warehouses of a local military unit, Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Wednesday in what could be the latest attempt to Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia at the start of Kiev’s latest counter-offensive. .
The wreckage of a third drone was found about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the crash site, Russian media reported. No damage or casualties were reported.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that it was an “unsuccessful attempt at a terrorist attack” by the “Kiev regime” against its facilities in the Moscow region, adding in a statement that the three drones had been shot down by radio-electronic means.
Ukraine, which does not usually confirm attacks on Russian soil, had no immediate comment on the downed drones. Previously, Ukrainian officials have stressed the country’s right to strike any target in response to Russia’s invasion and war that began in February 2022.
In December, Moscow claimed to have shot down drones that targeted military airbases in the Saratov and Ryazan regions of western Russia.
Other drones are said to have flown over Russia on several occasions. Since February, when a UJ-22 crashed 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Moscow, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly approached the Russian capital.
Last month, a drone attack rocked the Russian capital, though it caused only light damage, in what appeared to be one of Kiev’s deepest and boldest strikes in Russia. It was the second reported strike on Moscow that month after Russian authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin.
At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow’s air defense was “working satisfactorily”, but added that it was “clear what we need to do to close the gaps” in the system.
Meanwhile, rail traffic was disrupted on the Crimean peninsula on Wednesday, according to its governor installed in Russia, Sergei Aksyonov.
Aksyonov did not say what caused the disruption, but some Russian media reported that train tracks had been blown up overnight in apparent sabotage operations.
Russia annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014, a move most people consider illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country was aiming to reclaim the peninsula in a counteroffensive that began in recent weeks.
In response to Ukraine’s military threat using advanced weapons supplied by Western allies, Russia has made ‘significant efforts’ in recent weeks to assemble ‘elaborate’ defensive lines on the outskirts of Crimea, according to the British ministry. of the defense.
For the Kremlin, securing control of Crimea is “a top political priority,” the ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday. There is “intense fighting” in parts of southern Ukraine where Kyiv forces are testing Russian defences, he added.
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