Russia says it downs dozens of Ukrainian drones over Moscow, other areas

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian air defence forces repelled dozens of Ukrainian drones that attacked Moscow and other parts of the country on Tuesday, the defence ministry said.

In two evening posts on Telegram, the defence ministry listed sites where 70 drones were intercepted in various regions including Moscow, central Russia and Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia’s aviation authority halted flights at two of Moscow’s airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, on Tuesday evening.

The biggest numbers were downed near Russia’s western border with Ukraine — 31 in Kursk province and 14 in Bryansk province, the ministry said. The Bryansk governor said one woman there was killed by a drone.

The ministry report cited two Ukrainian drones repelled over Moscow while 11 were intercepted in the regions of Kaluga and Tula about 180 km (112 miles) south of Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in separate Telegram posts that eight drones targeting the capital were downed.

“Today, throughout the day, Defence Ministry air defence units have been repelling enemy drones,” the Moscow mayor said.

Several Russian media outlets shared videos purportedly showing debris from one of the downed drones in the city of Noginsk, east of the Russian capital.

The drone attacks came days before President Vladimir Putin hosts several world leaders in Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Andrew Osborn, Ron Popeski and Cynthia Osterman)