Russia Says It Shot Down More Drones Headed Toward Moscow

The Russian Defense Ministry says its intercepted 12 Ukrainian drones that were targeting Moscow in the past three weeks

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it shot down two drones overnight that were headed toward Moscow as there’s been a significant uptick in Ukrainian attacks on the capital city.

“An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Moscow Region was thwarted during the night. Two drones were shot down by air defense systems,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

According to The New York Times, Russian officials have said they intercepted a total of 12 drones targeting Moscow over the past few weeks as the attempts to hit the city have become a near-daily occurrence. Some drones have struck buildings in Moscow, causing minor damage.

The uptick in attacks on Moscow came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the war was “gradually returning to Russia’s territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases.” Ukraine has broken from its previous policy of being ambiguous about who was behind attacks inside Russian territory.

In early June, the Times reported that the Biden administration was no longer concerned about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia escalating the war, signaling that the US tacitly backs operations against Moscow. The report said that during the first year of the war, the administration was worried Russia could retaliate by attacking NATO.

Ukraine has also started attacking Russian ports and ships, which it says is retaliation for Russia’s bombardments of Ukraine’s port infrastructure. A Ukrainian official told POLITICO on Tuesday that “everything the Russians are moving back and forth on the Black Sea are our valid military targets.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.