Ukraine launches an assault on Russia's capital as it continues its big advance into Russia's Kursk region.
Ukraine has conducted one of its greatest drone strikes on Moscow as it continues its major incursion into Russia's Kursk region, according to Russian authorities.
Russia's Ministry of Defence stated on Wednesday that air defense forces shot down 11 drones over Moscow and the surrounding region, with some purportedly destroyed over the city of Podolsk, 38 kilometers (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
"This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said via the Telegram messaging app. No damage or casualties were reported, he stated in a previous post.
Drone attacks against Moscow are unusual. Ukraine's newest attempt to assault the Russian capital appeared to be larger than a previous attack in May 2023, in which at least eight drones were shot down.
Wednesday's onslaught was part of a larger offensive on Russia, with the Defense Ministry reporting that its air defense troops destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight.
In addition to the 11 drones destroyed over Moscow, the ministry reported that 23 drones were downed in the border district of Bryansk, six in the border region of Belgorod, three in the Kaluga region, which borders Moscow to the northeast, and two in the beleaguered Kursk region.
Russia's RIA state news agency reportedly stated that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders Moscow to the north.
Following the assault on Moscow, interim limitations were enforced overnight at Moscow's Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports, but all three resumed normal operations later Wednesday.
"If it [Ukraine] targets the cities, how many of those drones will get through, and what impact will they have on Russian strategic thinking, given that all of these places, including the capital, are so well protected? So it has to be seen whether this is a departure or a one-time occurrence by Ukraine's military command," said Al Jazeera's Defence Editor Alex Gatopoulos, who is reporting from Kiev.
Lightning raid
Two weeks after the surprise incursion, Russia is struggling to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk.
Ukraine's lightning strike on Kursk on August 6 resulted in the capture of hundreds of prisoners and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
Ukraine now claims to control 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) of Kursk area, which includes 93 villages.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian military claimed to have targeted an S-300 antiaircraft missile system in Russia's southern Rostov region.
Ukrainian drones also struck an oil storage facility in Rostov on Sunday, causing a major fire. On Wednesday, hundreds of Russian firemen were still fighting the fire.
"Does this suggest a shift in Ukraine's strategic thinking? According to Al Jazeera's Gatopoulos, they have successfully targeted Russia's industrial capacity to wage war.
"You see the Rostov on Don oil refinery still burning after four days, its output down to a mere fraction of what it was beforehand," remarked Mr. Putin.
Meanwhile, Russian soldiers continued their push in eastern Ukraine, claiming on Tuesday to have taken control of Niu-York, a strategically vital logistics hub, as part of a larger effort to capture the whole Donetsk region.
Ukraine's military announced on Wednesday that it destroyed 50 of Russia's 69 attack drones launched during an overnight strike. One had entered Ukraine from Belarus, while the other had returned to Russia, the report added.
The attack also featured two ballistic and one cruise missile. The military claimed it had only shot down the latter.
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and deputy head of Russia's Security Council, promised on Wednesday that there would be no discussions between the two countries until Ukraine was thoroughly vanquished.
"The empty chatter of intermediaries that no one had appointed about the wonderful peace is over," he conveyed over Telegram. "There will be no more negotiations until the complete defeat of the enemy."
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