Moscow targeted by dozens of Ukrainian drones – mayor (VIDEOS)

The Russian capital is repelling a major Ukrainian drone attack, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said.

At least 32 incoming UAVs were shot down early on Sunday by air defenses near the towns of Domodedovo, Ramenskoye and Kolomna to the south east of Moscow, Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyev also said a “massive drone attack” was underway and that air defenses continue to operate across the region.

In Ramenskoye disctrict, a UAV went down in the village of Stanovoye, setting two homes on fire. A 52-year-old woman was injured by shrapnel and hospitalized with burns to her face, neck and arms, the governor said on Telegram.

Several videos have been posted on social media, appearing to show fixed-wing drones being shot down over the Moscow Region. There is also footage of a blaze in Stanovoye, which shows several private homes being almost completely destroyed by the flames.

Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky international airports have announced suspension of their operations due to the drone raid.

The governor of Orel Region, Andery Klychkov, has said eight UAVs were destroyed over the region on Sunday morning. There have so far been no reports of casualties or damage, he added.

Kiev has intensified its drone incursions into Russia since January, mainly targeting energy infrastructure, but also hitting residential areas. Moscow has responded by adding Ukrainian power plants to its list of legitimate military targets. Most of Ukraine’s non-nuclear generation capacity has been disabled or destroyed by Russian strikes since then.

Later in the day, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced that Russian forces had thwarted “an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using a fixed-wing UAV against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

In a period of three hours, air defenses intercepted or destroyed 70 Ukrainian UAVs, including 34 over Moscow Region, 14 over Bryansk Region, seven over Orel Region, seven over Kaluga Regions, six over Kursk Region, and two over Tula Region, the ministry said.

A major Ukrainian UAV attack on Russian territory also took place on October 20 and saw as many as 110 drones shot down or intercepted above several Russian regions, according the Defense Ministry. There were a number of major raids in August and September.