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Russia downs drones targeting Moscow, Crimea

AFP . Moscow
05 Sep 2023 15:13:36 | Update: 05 Sep 2023 15:13:36
Russia downs drones targeting Moscow, Crimea
In this grab taken from a handout video posted on the Telegram account of Mikhail Vedernikov, the governor of Russia's Pskov region, on August 30, 2023, an explosion lights up the sky as the Russian military repell a drone attack on an airport in the northwestern city of Pskov — AFP Photo

Russia on Tuesday said it downed Ukrainian drones over regions close to Moscow and over the Kremlin-controlled Crimean peninsula. 

As Moscow's offensive in Ukraine drags on for a 19th month, Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory have now almost become a daily feature. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence systems had "destroyed drones which were trying to carry out an attack on Moscow."

There had been "no casualties", Sobyanin said on social media.

The defence ministry said one drone was flying over the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, while a second was destroyed northwest of the capital above the Moscow region's Istrinsky district.

A third was also destroyed in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow.

Sobyanin said there had been damage in the area "as a result of falling debris" and emergency services were "working to eliminate the consequences". 

The drone intercepted in the Zavidovo area of the Tver region "was flying in the direction of Moscow", he added, saying there were "no casualties or damage".

Last week, Sobyanin acknowledged the capital faced "attempted terrorist attacks undertaken by Ukrainian authorities practically every day."

The Russian defence ministry later said it had also downed a drone over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014. 

"An unmanned aerial vehicle was destroyed over the territory of the Republic of Crimea by means of air defence on duty," the ministry said on Telegram.

Ukraine has targeted Crimea throughout Russia's offensive, launched in February last year. 

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