Ukraine targets Moscow with "one of the largest" drone attacks
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View of the Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Elena Chernyshova/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Moscow faced a siege Wednesday from nearly a dozen Ukrainian drones, the largest such attack on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of surprise offensive attacks sprung by Ukraine as Kyiv looks to build on the momentum generated by its surprise incursion into Russian territory earlier this month.
Driving the news: The drone attack on Moscow was part of a broader series of overnight strikes on Russian soil.
- Russian air defenses shot down 45 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions, Russia's Ministry of Defense said Wednesday, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
- That included 11 drones shot down over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk Region, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region, and two over the Kursk region.
- "This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow with drones ever," Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin wrote in a Telegram post.
The other side: Russia launched its own volley of aerial strikes against Ukraine overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force said in a Telegram post Wednesday that it had destroyed 50 out of 69 Russian drones launched by Moscow overnight.
The big picture: The Ukrainian offensive into Russia's Kursk region has provided a much-needed morale boost to Ukrainian forces while leaving Russia scrambling to respond.
- A new assessment issued Tuesday by the Institute for the Study of War noted that Ukraine is continuing to make gains in Kursk and Russian forces are continuing to redeploy units to stymie the offensive.
- However, Russian forces have made recent gains in Ukraine's Donbas region, AP reported.
- Ukraine has escalated drone attacks on Russian soil over the past few months, per AP. Most have targeted Russian airfields and oil refineries.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has yet to comment on Wednesday's attack.
Flashback: This isn't the first time the Russian capital has been targeted since the start of the war, though attacks on Moscow remain rare.
- In early May 2023, two drones unsuccessfully attempted to strike the Kremlin — an attack Russia blamed the U.S. for directing. The U.S. denied involvement.
- A drone targeted residential areas of Moscow later that same month; Russia accused Ukraine of being behind the attack.
- In July 2023, Russia once again accused Ukraine of carrying out drone strikes in Moscow and Crimea.
Go deeper: Putin scrambles as Ukraine claims more territory inside Russia
