Moscow hit with biggest drone strike its seen since the start of the war

By Reuters
November 11, 2024 08:45 Updated 201d ago
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Reuters

At least 34 drones from Ukraine hit Moscow on Sunday. Russian air defences say it destroyed another 50 drones in other parts of the country. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian port city of Odesa was hit by drones from Russia, killing at least three people.

Russian defence ministry says Ukraine has attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022, forcing flights to be diverted from three of the city's major airports and injuring at least five people.

Russian air defences destroyed another 50 drones over other regions of Western Russia on Sunday, the defence ministry said.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using airplane-type drones on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted," the ministry said.

Russia's federal air tranpsort agency said the airports of Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky diverted at least 366 flights, but then resume operations. Five people were injured in the Moscow region, the defence ministry said.

Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million, is one of the biggest metroplitan areas in Europe, alonside Istanbul.

For its part, Russia launched a record 145 drones overnight, Ukraine said. Kyiv said its air defences downed 62 of those. Ukraine also said it attacked an arsenal in the Bryansk region of Russia, which reported 14 drones had been downed in the region.

Unverified video posted on Russian Telegram channels showed drones buzzing across the skyline.

The 2.5 year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some official say could be its final act after Moscow's forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war and Donald Trump was elected 47th president of the United States.

Trump, who takes office in January, said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, but has given few details on how he would seek to do this.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump to congratulate him on his presidential election victory, Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk joined th call, according to media reports. Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine's defence effort.

Kyiv itself the target of repeated mass dronke strikes from Russian forces, has tried to strike back against its vastly larger easter neighbour with repeated drone strikes against oil refineries, airfields and even Russian strategic early-warning radar stations.

While the 1,000 kim (620 miles) front has largely resembled grinding World War One trench and artillary warfare for much of the war, one of the biggest innovations of the conflict has been drone warfare.

Moscow and Kyiv have both sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them in innovative ways, and seek new ways to destroy them - from using farmers' shotguns to advanced electronic jamming systems.

Odesa

At least two people were injured and buildings were damaged in an overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine's southern region of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday (10 November).

"The enemy has once again launched a massive attack on our region," the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region said on its social media account. "Garages with cars and property were on fire, residential buildings, shops were damaged."

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

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News Ukraine Odesa Russia
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