Russian air defense shot down a drone that was approaching Moscow overnight, said the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, early on Saturday August 26. “Last night Air Defense Forces destroyed a drone approaching Moscow from Istrinskii district,” he wrote on Telegram. According to initial information, “there are no casualties or damage. Emergency services are on scene,” he added.
Another Ukrainian drone was shot down on Saturday morning by Russian air defense in the Chebekino district of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. At around 6 a.m. GMT, “an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack with a drone against sites on Russian territory was prevented,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The Russian capital had rarely been targeted since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, but Ukrainian drone attacks have multiplied in recent months. Moscow and other regions of Russia have been targeted, including very recently the annexed Crimea. On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 42 Ukrainian drones there. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pleased to see the war “come to Russia”.
On Wednesday, authorities in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine reported that three civilians had been killed by Kiev forces.
On the same day, a drone crashed into a skyscraper in Moscow’s business district, destroying a window without causing any casualties, authorities said. It was then the sixth consecutive day of drone attacks on Moscow and its region.
