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MOSCOW — Russian authorities said they repelled almost 150 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday, in a major attack that forced at least three Moscow airports to suspend flights.
On Telegram, the defence ministry posted that 112 Ukrainian drones had been "destroyed and intercepted" in six different regions in the three hours up to midnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that another 33 drones heading for the Russian capital had been shot down.
The Russian military announces Ukrainian drone attacks most days but rarely of this intensity over such a short period of time.
Moscow, several hundred kilometres from the frontier, is not often the target of such a big attack.
But the capital has increasingly had to divert flights in recent weeks.
This time, the Federal Aviation Transport Agency said restrictions had been introduced at Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports.
Beyond Moscow, 59 drones targeted the southwestern region of Bryansk, Russia's defence ministry said. Others were fired at the Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Oryol and Kaluga regions.
The overnight swarm comes after Ukraine said it faced the most intense three days of Russian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military offensive in 2022.
Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones over three days up to Monday. Thirteen civilians were killed in attacks on Sunday, including three children.
Russia's defence ministry said Tuesday that its strikes were a response to Ukrainian drone and missile attacks that caused Russian civilian casualties.