Russia says it shoots down 10 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow

Flights are halted astatine Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports amid information concerns aft the drone attacks.

Russian forces person changeable down 10 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, arsenic Ukraine reports astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic killed successful Russian attacks.

There were nary reports of immoderate harm successful Moscow connected Sunday, but the Ukrainian onslaught led to a short-lived occurrence astatine the Azot chemic works successful the neighbouring Tula region, injuring 2 people, and 7 drones were destroyed supra the Kaluga region, determination governors said.

Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civilian aviation authority, said connected Telegram that to guarantee aerial safety, it halted flights astatine Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo and adjacent Kaluga (Grabtsevo) airports. They were aboriginal reopened.

The drone onslaught was carried retired arsenic Kyiv launched an unprecedented drone operation past play heavy wrong Russia, targeting nuclear-capable subject craft astatine Russian airbases. Moscow promised to retaliate, unleashing a barrage of attacks successful caller days.

Early connected Sunday, Russian aerial attacks pummelled aggregate locations crossed Ukraine. At slightest 1 idiosyncratic was killed successful the concern portion of Dnipropetrovsk, which was deed by drones, artillery and rocket launchers, according to the caput of the determination council.

“The invaders struck … Synelnykivsky territory with a guided aerial bomb. A antheral was killed. Our sincere condolences to his family,” Mykola Lukashuk said.

“Five backstage houses and a kindergarten were besides damaged,” helium added.

In the Nikopol territory of Dnipropetrovsk, a business, 4 homes and powerfulness lines were damaged, helium said.

Later connected Sunday, Russia said its crushed forces had pushed into Dnipropetrovsk for the archetypal clip successful its three-year violative successful Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said forces from a vessel portion had “reached the occidental borderline of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are continuing to make an violative successful the Dnipropetrovsk region”, referring to the portion of the Donetsk portion held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014.

There was nary contiguous remark from Ukraine astir Russia’s statement.

In much than a decennary of struggle with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has ne'er had to combat connected the territory of the cardinal portion until now.

Dnipropetrovsk is an important mining and concern hub for Ukraine, and deeper Russian advances into the portion could person a superior knock-on effect for Kyiv’s struggling subject and economy.

It was estimated to person a colonisation of astir 3 cardinal radical earlier Russia launched its full-scale warfare connected Ukraine successful February 2022.

Ukrainian subject unit antecedently told the AFP quality bureau that Russia could beforehand comparatively rapidly successful the mostly level region, fixed determination are less earthy obstacles oregon villages that could beryllium utilized arsenic antiaircraft positions by Kyiv’s forces.

Also connected Sunday, Russian forces deed villages successful the neighbouring confederate regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, injuring 2 civilians, section officials said.

Failed bid efforts

Russia has accelerated its beforehand successful caller weeks arsenic the latest negotiations successful the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul failed to broker an extremity to the war.

The warring sides impeach each different of delaying a large-scale captive exchange – the lone factual result of the talks successful Istanbul.

The captive swap, primitively owed to instrumentality spot this weekend, would spot much than 1,000 radical released from each side.

But Moscow accused Kyiv connected Saturday of not agreeing to a day to swap the captured soldiers portion Ukraine said Russia was playing “dirty games” by not sticking to the agreed parameters for the swap.