Massive drone attack kills two in Moscow

A coordinated drone assault struck Moscow overnight, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to nine others, according to Russian authorities. The attack involved 650 drones targeting the Moscow region, with most being neutralized at long range by air defenses. Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that the attack killed a 71-year-old man and a 20-year-old man at separate locations on the outskirts of the city, while nine individuals sustained injuries.

The assault caused extensive damage to 47 homes across seven municipalities and four apartments in a residential building in the village of Lobanovo. This incident marks the second-largest drone attack on the Russian capital and its surrounding area in the past two years, occurring well over 400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Moscow's four airports experienced disruptions as a consequence of the attack, with air traffic restrictions imposed multiple times throughout the night and morning, as per the Russian civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia. Both Ukraine and Russia have intensified long-range strikes on civilian and industrial targets, including energy, transport, port infrastructure, and ships in the Black Sea, in recent months.

Russia, having launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has expressed plans to escalate strikes on infrastructure targets, including those in Kyiv, as winter looms.