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| Photo Credit: AFP

Moscow said on Sunday (September 1, 2024) it thwarted a “massive” drone attack on western Russia and another targeting the capital.

“Our defenders are repelling an attempted massive UAV attack on the territory of the Bryansk region” bordering Ukraine, regional governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said.

At least 26 drones were “identified and destroyed” by the Russian military, without causing any casualties or damage, Bogomaz said on Telegram.

The regional governor said on August 21 the military had foiled an attempt by a Ukrainian “reconnaissance-sabotage group” to cross into Bryansk.

Russia’s neighbouring Kursk has been hit by a Ukrainian offensive since August 6.

Overnight into Sunday, five drones launched towards the capital were neutralised by Russian forces, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

The incursion came more than a week after Sobyanin described “one of the largest ever” drone attacks against Moscow, with authorities saying 11 aircraft were destroyed.

Russian forces also shot down drones overnight above the border regions of Belgorod and Voronezh, as well as in Lipetsk and Ryazan regions farther from Ukraine, without local officials providing precise numbers.

“The glass of three residential buildings in Belgorod is damaged. In one private residence, a utility building was completely destroyed,” said Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

In the western Oryol region, governor Andrey Klychkov said one drone was intercepted.

On Wednesday Ukrainian drones struck two fuel depots, setting them ablaze in southwest Russia’s Rostov region and the northern Kirov region.