Russian air defences intercepted and destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over Moscow and nine over the surrounding region, the Defence Ministry said Sunday.
Forty-six of the drones were over the Kursk region, where Ukraine has sent its forces in recent weeks in the largest incursion on Russian soil since the Second World War. A further 34 were shot over the Bryansk region, 28 over the Voronezh region, and 14 over the Belgorod region — all of which border Ukraine.
Drones were also shot down deeper into Russia, including one each in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, and the Ivanovo region, northeast of the Russian capital. Russia’s Defence Ministry said drones were intercepted over 15 regions, while one other governor said a drone was shot down over his region, too.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that falling debris from one of the two drones shot down over the city caused a fire at an oil refinery.
Ukrainian drone strikes have brought the fight far from the front line into the heart of Russia. Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has stepped up aerial assaults on Russian soil, targeting refineries and oil terminals to slow down the Kremlin’s assault.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said Sunday it had taken control of the towns of Pivnichne and Vyimka, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim.
Russian forces have been driving deeper into the partly occupied eastern region, the total capture of which is one of the Kremlin’s primary ambitions. Russia’s army is closing in on Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub for the Ukrainian defence in the area.
In Ukraine overnight, eight drones were shot down out of 11 launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian air force.
One person was killed and four wounded in shelling overnight in the Sumy region, local officials said, while Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said five people were wounded in his region. On Sunday, 28 more were wounded when Russia shelled the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Syniehubov said a shopping centre, a sports facility and residential buildings were among those damaged in Sunday’s attack.
Ukraine appears to be seizing more Russian territory after it unexpectedly carried out an attack on the country’s Kursk region. Andrew Chang breaks down three main challenges Vladimir Putin is facing, and how Russia’s response could impact how other countries react.
