Ukraine carries out largest drone attack on Moscow of the war

Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022which has forced flights to be diverted from three of the city’s main airports and has injured at least five people.

Russian air defenses They have destroyed another 50 drones in other regions of western Russia on Sunday, according to its Defense Ministry.

Regarding the attack, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyhas issued a statement on its Telegram channel in which it has expressed its gratitude to “all our soldiers who are carrying out successful attacks with our drones. Everyone can see how this strategy is working. The drones are on the front lines, so as our long-range drones are operating deep in Russia’s rear, Russian military facilities are increasingly within reach of our soldiers.

And he continued: “I thank the Security Service of Ukraine and the members of the Special Operations Forces. The Russian military warehouses, airfields and military industry companies they will not be able to hide“.

“The efforts of all those who destroy Russian equipment on the front are vital. In particular, the special forces of the Security Service They have managed to destroy more than three hundred tanks Russians. Every eighth Russian tank destroyed by Ukraine bears the mark of the SBU guys. I am also grateful to the soldiers of the Main Intelligence Directorate, as well as all units carrying out tasks in the east of our country, both in combat and behind enemy lines.

Russia’s response

From Moscow, they consider that this massive attack has been “an attempt by the kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft-type drones on the territory of the Russian Federation has been thwarted,” the Ministry stated.

Russia’s federal air transport agency has reported that the Domodedovo, Sheremetievo and Zhukovsky airports They have diverted at least 36 flightsbut then they have resumed operations. Defense has assured that five people have been injured in the Moscow region.

Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 millionhas been one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe, along with Istanbul.

For its part, Russia has launched a record 145 drones overnight, according to Ukraine. kyiv has said its air defenses have shot down 62 of those drones. Ukraine has also claimed to have attacked an arsenal in the Bryansk region of Russia, where 14 drones have been **reported** to have been shot down** in the region.

An unverified video has been posted on Russian Telegram channels that has shown drones buzzing over the horizon.

The two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine has been entering what some officials say could be its final act, as Moscow’s forces have advanced at a faster pace since the early days of the conflict and Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States.

Trump, who took office in January, has said during his campaign that he could bring peace to Ukraine within 24 hours, but has given few details about how he would seek to do this.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump to congratulate him on his election victory, Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk joined the call, according to media reports. Musk owns SpaceXthat has provided Starlink satellite communication services, vital to Ukraine’s defensive effort.

Moscow ‘Umbrella’

kyiv, which has been the target of repeated massive drone attacks by Russian forces, has sought to strike back at its vast eastern neighbor with repeated attacks on oil refineriesairfields and even Russian strategic early warning radar stations.

While the 1,000 km (620 mile) front has largely resembled World War I trench and artillery warfare for much of the conflict, one of the biggest innovations has been drone warfare.

Both Moscow and kyiv have sought buy and develop new droneshave deployed in innovative ways and have sought new ways to destroy them, from using farmers’ shotguns to advanced electronic jamming systems.

Russia has developed a series of electronic “umbrellas” over Moscow, with additional advanced internal layers over strategic buildings, and a complex network of air defenses to shoot down the drones before they reach the Kremlin in the heart of the capital.