Russia says downed seven drones near Moscow

MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday said it had downed seven drones over the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometres southwest of Moscow, amid a surge in drone attacks targeting the capital.

The defence ministry said it had foiled "a terrorist attack with drones" in the region.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Shapsha confirmed on the Telegram messaging app that seven drones had been shot down.

There were no casualties, he added.

As Moscow's offensive in Ukraine stretches into its second year, drones attacks on Russian cities and towns have multiplied.

On Tuesday, Russia said it had partially repelled a drone attack in Moscow but that one of them hit a building in the city, which witnessed a similar strike over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said early on Thursday that almost 15 drones were downed during an overnight attack on Kyiv, in the second strike on the capital in as many days.

Air defence forces “detected and destroyed almost 15 air targets”, said Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, without specifying who launched the attack.

Early information indicated no damage or casualties, he said.

Popko said the attackers had used a barrage of Shahed drones, in an onslaught that lasted three hours.

Russia has used Iranian-made Shaheds to attack Ukraine multiple times since the start of its military operations in Ukraine in February 2022.

The city’s military administration had earlier issued an alert for air attacks and warned residents to stay in shelters. 

The strike was repelled a day after another “massive” overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital, Popko said.

Also on Wednesday, Russian drones struck grain facilities in the port of Izmail which sits just across the Danube River from Romania, damaging silos, warehouses and administrative buildings.

Izmail is now the main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products via Romania, following Russia’s withdrawal last month from the Black Sea grain agreement.