The largest drone attack to date targets Moscow, targeting Ukraine

In its largest drone attack on the Russian capital to date, Ukraine targeted the Moscow region on Tuesday. The attack resulted in the death of a minimum of one woman, the destruction of numerous homes, and the forced cancellation of about fifty flights from airports in the Moscow area.

The largest nuclear power in the world, Russia, claimed to have shot down at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, home to over 21 million people, and 124 more over eight other regions.

Near Moscow, at least one person died, according to Russian authorities. Nearly fifty flights were rerouted and three of Moscow's four airports were closed for longer than six hours.

According to Kyiv, Russia—which invaded the country with tens of thousands of soldiers in February 2022—attacked it with 46 drones over night, 38 of which were destroyed.

Residents told Reuters that the drone attacks on Russia caused damage to several high-rise apartment buildings in the Moscow region's Ramenskoye district, setting flats on fire.

In Ramenskoye, a 46-year-old woman lost her life and three others were hurt, according to Andrei Vorobyov, regional governor of Moscow.

Fire and blasts were heard when the residents woke up.

A resident of the neighborhood named Alexander Li told Reuters, "I looked out the window and saw a ball of fire." "The shockwave blew out the window."

A resident named Georgy, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that in the wee hours of the morning, he heard a drone buzzing outside his building.

"I saw everything when I pulled back the curtain and it hit the building right in front of my eyes," he remarked. "My family and I went outside to run."

Based on official data, the Ramenskoye district, located approximately 50 km (31 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, is home to about 25,000 people.

The Russian defense ministry said that tens more drones were shot down over other regions, and over seventy drones were downed over the Bryansk region. There were no reported casualties or damage.

Drone conflict

With Russia pushing further into eastern Ukraine, Kyiv has turned the tables on Moscow by launching a cross-border assault on the western Kursk region of Russia on August 6 and by launching increasingly significant drone attacks that penetrate deep into Russian territory.

Along the 1,000 km (620 mile) heavily fortified front line in southern and eastern Ukraine, the war has mostly been a grinding artillery and drone war involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Both Moscow and Kiev have made an effort to acquire and create new drones, use them in creative ways, and find novel ways to take them down, such as sophisticated electronic jamming systems or shotguns.

In order to attack targets like tanks and energy infrastructure like refineries and airfields, both sides have increased their own production and assembly while converting low-cost commercial drones into lethal weapons.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has promised a retaliatory strike in response to the Ukrainian drone attacks, calling them "terrorism" because they target civilian infrastructure. Putin has attempted to shield Moscow from the brutality of the conflict.

Over the past 2.5 years, Russia has bombarded Ukraine with thousands of missiles and drones, killing thousands of civilians, destroying most of the nation's energy infrastructure, and causing damage to both residential and commercial properties.

Although Kyiv's Western backers have stated they do not want a direct confrontation between Russia and the NATO military alliance led by the United States, Ukraine claims it has the right to strike back deeply into Russia.

Regarding Tuesday's attacks, Ukraine did not immediately respond.Targeting civilians is denied by both sides.

The attack on Tuesday comes after drone strikes that Ukraine initiated in early September, primarily aimed at Russian energy and power infrastructure.

Authorities in the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to the north, reported that although drone debris fell on top of a fuel and energy facility, the facility's "technological process" was unaffected.