Moscow, Oct 6. (dpa/GNA) – Ukraine attacked the Moscow region with around 650 drones overnight, killing two people and damaging dozens of residential buildings, Russian authorities said early on Tuesday.
Most of the drones were destroyed by air defences at long range, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. He said 105 drones were destroyed as they approached the Russian capital.
In addition to the two deaths, nine people were injured in the attack, according to Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region. It was not initially possible to verify these figures.
Vorobyov said 47 residential buildings had been damaged. Local reports said a fire had broken out in a warehouse in the village of Litvinovo. The drone attacks continued into the morning, Sobyanin said, forcing Sheremetyevo Airport, the largest in the country, to suspend operations temporarily. If the Russian figures on the number of drones shot down are accurate, they would point to a major Ukrainian attack.
Citing eyewitnesses, the Kyiv Independent reported that an oil production facility around 40 kilometres from Moscow was targeted. Russian sources said the facility in the village of Konstantinovo, is the region’s largest reservoir and a key hub for Moscow’s fuel supply. No official statement has been made regarding the target.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russia’s oil industry to hit energy exports, that provide important revenue for Moscow’s war effort.
Ukraine has been defending itself with Western support against Russia’s full-scale invasion for more than four and a half years, and regularly targets sites deep inside Russian territory, as part of its defence.
Russia, meanwhile, systematically attacks targets across Ukraine with drones and missiles, killing civilians and damaging homes and critical infrastructure.
At least six people were killed by Russian aerial bombs in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday, according to authorities.
Investigators said 59 people were injured, while rescue workers continued searching the rubble of a residential building for possible further victims.
GNA