Russia claims to have thwarted a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea early on Sunday, while drones also targeted Moscow, disrupting air traffic in the capital and causing a fire at an oil depot in the country's southwest.
Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down two drones tonight that "intended to attack the Russian capital," reported its mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
The first drone was neutralized in the town of Istra, in the Moscow region, and the second, hours later, in Ramenskoe, 50 kilometers from the capital.
According to Sobianin, preliminary information indicates that "there was no damage or destruction due to falling fragments" of the downed aircraft.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported, for its part, the downing of drones in the Moscow region and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
In Crimea, according to the Russian military, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack was "repelled" with four drones.
The day before, Russia shot down two drones in regions bordering Moscow that were apparently also heading to the capital.
Both yesterday and today the situation forced the authorities to briefly cease the activities of the capital's airports, which were resumed a few hours later.
In recent days, Ukraine has launched a series of attacks against Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and facilities of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, seeking to undermine Moscow's war efforts in the region.
Attacks inside Russia, far from the front lines, have also increased, with Moscow's mayor saying at least two drones were shot down in the capital region early on Sunday.
Reuters could not independently verify Sunday's reports and there was no immediate comment from kyiv.
In an op-ed on Saturday night, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, urged Kyiv's allies to speed up arms deliveries, saying this was the only way to end the war.
"For example, the complete or partial removal of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is a feasible task, should significantly accelerate the process of Russia's search for a way out of the ongoing war," Danilov wrote on the Ukrainska news site. Pravda.
Russian air defense systems destroyed at least six drones targeting Crimea from different directions, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The report on the messaging app Telegram does not say whether there was damage or casualties on the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in a widely condemned move in 2014, eight years before Moscow's full invasion.
In the Moscow region, one drone was destroyed over the Istra district and another over the Ramensky district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties or damage from the drone wreckage.
At least 30 flights were delayed and six canceled at Moscow's main airports, Russian state news agencies said, a frequent move by aviation authorities during drone strikes.
In southwestern Russia, a Ukrainian drone damaged an oil depot early Sunday, causing a fire in a fuel tank that was later extinguished, the regional governor said.
"There are no victims, all emergency services are working on the territory of the facility," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram.
He did not specify whether the warehouse was hit by debris or was the target of the drone.
