Russia said it downed 42 drones and a missile fired by Ukraine, the largest single attack involving unmanned vehicles at the end of a week of almost daily strikes, a small retaliation as Moscow’s war against its neighbor drags into its 19th month.
(Bloomberg) — Russia said it downed 42 drones and a missile fired by Ukraine, the largest single attack involving unmanned vehicles at the end of a week of almost daily strikes, a small retaliation as Moscow’s war against its neighbor drags into its 19th month.
Nine drones were shot down over Crimea and electronic jamming was used to neutralize 33 others before they reached their targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram statement Friday. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Air interceptors also shot down an S-200 missile over the Kaluga region that borders Moscow, according to the ministry.
Moscow’s Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports were closed briefly as a precaution and later resumed operations, the Interfax news service reported.
Putin Orders Tighter Defenses After Drone Strikes on Moscow
Russia has blamed Ukraine for a series of almost daily drone attacks on Moscow and its surrounding region in the past week, causing repeated disruption to airport operations and damaging a building in the capital’s central business district. Ukraine hasn’t commented on the latest strikes.
A Russian strategic Tu-22M3 strategic bomber was also damaged when a drone hit a military airfield in the Novgorod region at the weekend.
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