Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that Ukrainian forces launched a major drone attack on the Russian capital on the night of 22/9 and early morning of 23/9. This was one of the largest drone attacks on the Russian capital in six months.
Sobyanin announced that air defenses shot down 36 Ukrainian drones, but did not specify the total number used in the attack.
A video on X showed a Russian aircraft flying unusually low, near a high-rise apartment building in Moscow province, apparently to avoid collision with the drones during the attack.
RT, citing sources, identified the plane as either an Airbus A380 passenger jet or an Antonov An-124 cargo plane. The BBC confirmed the video's authenticity.
Yuri Kotenok, a military correspondent for Izvestia, suggested the low flight was likely to minimize the risk of being hit by a Ukrainian drone and accused Kyiv of wanting to down a Russian plane.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported intercepting a total of 150 Ukrainian drones from the afternoon of 22/9 to that morning, including those downed over Moscow province. The ministry didn't disclose the total number of drones Ukraine used or the related damage.
Russian media reported that the Ukrainian attack led to the cancellation of nearly 100 flights and the delay of dozens more at Sheremetyevo, Russia's largest airport.
Officials in Belgorod province in southwestern Russia said at least 7 people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack that day.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has not commented on the reports. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russian forces launched three Iskander-M missiles and 115 various drones to attack Ukraine, of which 103 were shot down or jammed. The remaining missiles and drones hit six locations, with debris from downed drones falling in eight areas.
Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack killed two people in Odessa and Zaporizhzhia.
Russia and Ukraine have recently been using long-range drones to attack each other's critical infrastructure, although both sides claim to only target military objectives.
Pham Giang (According to BBC, Izvestia, Moscow Times, Ukrainska Pravda)
