Moscow says mass Ukrainian drone attack kills 4 in Russia

A large wave of nearly 600 Ukrainian drones struck Russia overnight, killing four people across the Moscow and Belgorod regions, authorities said on Sunday, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 556 drones across the country overnight, with a further 30 neutralised after dawn, describing it as one of the largest Ukrainian drone barrages of the ongoing conflict.

According to the ministry, interceptions took place across 14 Russian regions, as well as over the Crimean peninsula annexed from Ukraine, and the Black and Azov seas. It said the Moscow region was among the hardest hit.

Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said a woman was killed after a UAV hit a private house, while another person was trapped under rubble. He added that two additional men were also killed in the early morning attack.

“Since 3 o’clock in the morning, air defence forces have been repelling a large-scale UAV attack on the capital region,” Vorobyov wrote on Telegram, adding that four people were wounded and infrastructure sites were targeted.

Within Moscow itself, local officials said air defences intercepted more than 80 drones overnight, leaving 12 people wounded. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said minor damage was recorded at sites where debris fell.

Sobyanin added that one strike wounded construction workers near an oil and gas refinery, but said refinery production was not disrupted. He also said three residential buildings were damaged.

While Moscow is periodically targeted, it is located around 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the Ukrainian border and is less frequently struck than other regions.

In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, one man was killed in a drone strike on a lorry in the Shebekino district, local authorities said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said it intercepted 279 Russian drones out of 287 launched.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev