Russia accuses Ukraine of launching the biggest drone strike to date against Moscow
Meanwhile, fighting continues in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have managed to penetrate several kilometers further in the biggest offensive since the start of the war.
A Ukrainian serviceman prepares ammunition.
On Tuesday the city of Moscow suffered what Russian authorities called "one of the most significant" Ukrainian drone offensives since the start of the conflict.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, "eleven drones were destroyed" over the territory of Moscow and its region during the night, representing "one of the most significant attack attempts ever made" against the city with explosive drones, the mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, said on Telegram.
The city of Moscow and its region, located more than 500 km from the Ukrainian border had already been the target of some sporadic drone attacks.
During the summer of 2023 some devices were destroyed over the financial district of the capital, and in May 2023, two craft met the same fate in the Kremlin, in the heart of Moscow.
In all, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, 45 Ukrainian drones were destroyed by Russian air defense systems over the regions of Moscow (11), Bryansk (23), Belgorod (6), Kaluga (3) and Kursk (2), the Russian Defense Ministry noted in a statement.
Ukrainian offensive in Kursk
Kiev's aim is to open a new front for Moscow and thus hope that Russia will put less pressure on eastern Ukraine.
Local elections scheduled for early September were postponed in seven municipalities in Russia's Kursk region, election authorities announced Wednesday.
Preparations for the elections will resume "as soon as it is possible to fully ensure the safety of voters," according to the same source. The commission specified that early polls to elect the governor of the Kursk region will indeed be held, from August 28 to September 5.
In addition a missile was shot down around 10pm GMT Tuesday night in the west of the Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, according to regional governor, Vasili Golubev.
Ukrainian Air Force commander Mikola Oleschuk said anti-aircraft defenses shot down 50 explosive drones and a missile launched by Russia against its territory during the night.
The head of Kiev's military administration, Sergey Popko, specified on Telegram that 10 of those drones had been intercepted while "heading toward the Ukrainian capital."
"The airstrike lasted all night and into the morning, that is more than 9 hours in total," according to authorities in the Kiev region.
Russia claims it seized another settlement in eastern Ukraine
The Russian military said Wednesday that its forces seized another locality in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where they continue to advance as Kiev troops continue their major offensive on Russian territory.
It is the settlement of Zhelanne, located between the cities of Donetsk and Pokrovsk. It is located on the route of Russian troops towards Pokrovsk, a strategic center where the authorities have ordered the evacuation of families with children.
Analysts believe that Kiev surely hoped that the incursion of its forces into Russia's Kursk region would force Moscow to divert troops from other parts of the front. So far, however, there has been little sign that fighting on Ukraine's eastern front, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in two and a half years of conflict, has abated.
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