Russian air defenses thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday that prompted authorities to briefly shut down one of the city’s international airports, officials said, as a Western analysis said Russia managed to halt the counteroffensive launched recently by Kiev.
The drone attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, was the first known attack on the Russian capital since a failed riot launched 11 days ago by mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. His Wagner troops marched on Moscow in the biggest, albeit short-lived, challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than two decades of his rule.
Ukrainian authorities, who generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, did not say whether they launched the drone strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry said four of the five drones were shot down by air defenses outside Moscow and the fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced to shoot down.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage.
The drone strike prompted authorities to temporarily restrict flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and divert flights to two other major Moscow airports. Vnukovo is about 9 miles southwest of Moscow.
In May, two daring drone strikes rocked the Russian capital, in what appeared to be the deepest ever kyiv strikes in Russia.
The raid came as Ukrainian forces continued to probe Russian defenses in the south and east of their country in the opening stages of a counteroffensive.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, accused the military of currently concentrating on destroying Russian equipment and personnel, saying that the last few days of fighting have been particularly “fruitful.”
He did not provide evidence for his claim and it was not possible to independently verify it.
The Ukrainians face minefields, anti-tank ditches and other obstacles, as well as layered defensive lines reportedly going as deep as 12 miles in places as they try to dislodge the Russian occupiers.
The UK Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Kremlin forces have “refined (their) tactics aimed at slowing down Ukrainian armored counter-offensive operations in southern Ukraine.”
Moscow has emphasized the use of anti-tank mines to slow down the attack, according to the assessment, leaving the attackers at the mercy of Russian drones, helicopters and artillery.
“Although Russia has achieved some success with this approach in the early stages of the Ukraine counteroffensive, its forces continue to suffer from key weaknesses, especially overstretched units and shortages of artillery ammunition,” the assessment said.
Western analysts say the counteroffensive, even if successful, will not end the war that began with the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia has continued its missile and drone barrage far behind the front lines.
Oleksandr Lysenko, mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, said three people were killed and 21 others injured in a Russian drone strike on Monday that damaged two apartment buildings.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack also damaged the regional headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s main intelligence agency. He argued that the country needs more air defense systems to help defend against Russian incursions.
