'Massive' drone attack on Moscow ahead of US-Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia

THE RUSSIAN DEFENCE Ministry said air defences shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over ten Russian regions in what appears to be the biggest Ukrainian drone attack on Russia in three years.

The attack comes as a Ukrainian delegation is set to meet with America’s top diplomat in Saudi Arabia about ending the three-year war with Russia.

The most drones – 126 – were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv’s forces control, and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region.

Other regions listed included Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh on the border with Ukraine and those deeper inside Russia, such as Kaluga, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol and Ryazan.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials on the attack.

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“The Defence Ministry’s air defense continues to repel a massive attack by enemy drones on Moscow,” mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram early this morning.

At least one person was killed and three more wounded in the southern suburbs of Moscow, according to the region’s governor, Andrei Vorobyov.

He added that drone debris damaged at least seven units in a residential building in another suburb in the southeast.

Flights have been restricted in and out of six airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky just outside Moscow and airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions.

Train traffic through the Domodedovo railway station has also been briefly halted, local officials reported.

With reporting from © AFP 2025

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