Ukraine targets Moscow with drones for third straight night, Russia says

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(Reuters) -Ukraine sent drones towards Moscow for the third consecutive night and targeted several other Russian regions, disrupting air traffic throughout the country and threatening an industrial plant in Russia’s south, Russian authorities said on Wednesday.

Russian air defence units destroyed a total of 100 Ukrainian drones overnight, including six in the Moscow region and 13 over bordering regions, the Russian defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Kyiv has kept up long-range drone strikes on Moscow and other Russian regions in recent months, saying the aim is to hit military and industrial assets, sap Russia’s war economy and show Russians the conflict is no longer distant.

The attacks on Moscow came in several waves, the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram.

Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya said three of Moscow’s four airports, and several others throughout the country, were briefly closed for safety reasons.

Ukraine also launched several drones targeting the Budyonnovsk industrial zone in Russia’s Stavropol region, the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said on Telegram. The Russian defence ministry said its units downed two drones over the region, located in the country’s south.

The attack caused no “significant” damage, and there were no casualties, Vladimirov said on the Telegram messaging app.

According to Ukrainian media, including the RBK-Ukraine media outlet, Kyiv attacked the Stavrolen chemical plant in the Budyonnovsk zone, a part of Russia’s Lukoil group.

According to Russian and Ukrainian media, Stavrolen is one of Russia’s main producers of polyethylene and polypropylene.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports of the attack on Stavrolen. Stavropol’s governor did not disclose what was attacked in Budyonnovsk.

Russia typically gives limited details about the effects of Ukrainian strikes on its territory unless civilians or civilian infrastructure are hit.

Over the previous two nights, Russia’s units destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region, the Russian defence ministry said. There was no damage reported. 

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in MelbourneEditing by Rod Nickel and Michael Perry)