Ukraine Launches Biggest-Ever Drone Strike on Moscow
Ukraine carried out its largest-ever drone strike on Moscow on Sunday, deploying at least 34 drones in a sweeping attack on the Russian capital.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack in a Sunday Telegram post, where it said it intercepted an additional 29 drones. The Ministry wrote that it had thwarted the attack.
“Between 7:00 and 10:00 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted,” the post read (translated from Russian).
Moscow is Russia’s largest city with a population of 21 million. This attack is the largest drone strike on the capital began its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.
The strike followed Russia’s own massive attack: Early Sunday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that Russia had launched 145 drones into Ukraine on Saturday night.
“This week, our air defense forces have been working day and night to protect Ukraine’s skies from Russian terror,” Zelensky wrote. “Last night, Russia launched a record 145 Shaheds and other strike drones against Ukraine.”
Kyiv said it shot down 62 of the Russian drones. Zelensky said that Russian forces had escalated their use of guided bombs and missiles, continuing a relentless assault that has taken a heavy toll on Ukrainian civilians.
“Such terror cannot be stopped with words, and the killing of children and the loss of loved ones cannot simply be forgotten,” he wrote.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, drones have been adapted into formidable military tools on both sides. Russia has relied heavily on Iranian-produced Shahed drones, which first appeared on the Ukrainian battlefield in September 2022, but Iran claimed it had sold the drones prior to the start of the conflict.
Ukrainian has increasingly relied on drones to level the power difference with Russia, using drones to strike a variety of Russian assets, from ammunition plants, to oil refineries to radar stations.
According to Reuters, Russia’s federal air transport agency said the drones headed for Moscow disrupted flights from three major airports—Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky. Flight operations resumed shortly after, though at least five people in the Moscow region sustained injuries from the attacks, the Defense Ministry said.
Amid the intensifying drone warfare, speculation surrounds the trajectory of the conflict. The recent U.S. election, which saw Donald Trump return to office, has renewed discussion about peace negotiations, with Trump previously claiming he could broker a resolution within 24 hours in office.
When Ukrainian President Zelensky called Trump to congratulate him on his victory, tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose SpaceX provides Starlink satellite communication for Ukraine, reportedly joined the conversation.
Last week it was confirmed by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation that Ukrainian forces had engaged with North Korean soldiers for the first time. Ukrainian military intelligence reported that 12,000 soldiers, 500 officers and three generals from North Korea had been deployed to Russia.
Source » msn.com
