Russia said on Wednesday it had shot down three Ukrainian drones in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, at a time when drone attacks on the Russian capital have increased.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on the Telegram messaging platform that a Ukrainian attack with “three unmanned aerial devices (…) in the Kaluga region was thwarted” around 05:00 (03:00 in Lisbon).
“All the drones were detected and destroyed in time by Russian air defense systems,” the ministry said, adding that the attack caused no casualties or material damage.
The drones were neutralized “in the south of the region” of Kaluga, local governor Vladislav Chapcha said, also on Telegram.
Drone strikes in Russian-controlled territories have increased in recent weeks, mainly targeting Moscow and the Crimean peninsula, annexed by the Russians in 2014.
This is the fifth time that Russia has claimed to have shot down drones in the Kaluga region since the beginning of the month, with the last recorded on Saturday.
At the end of July and beginning of August, unmanned aerial devices managed to hit the financial district of Moscow, west of the Russian capital, causing damage to the façade of two office towers.
In May, two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, the seat of the Russian government.
In recent weeks, naval drones have also attacked Russian ships on several occasions, including an oil tanker.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on July 30 that the war was “gradually returning to the territory of Russia, to its symbolic centers and military bases.”
“It is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” he said at the time.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, but Ukrainian forces launched a second counteroffensive in June after receiving new weapons from the Western allies.
The kyiv authorities have acknowledged that the counter-offensive has been slow and with modest results.
In addition to arms support, the Western allies have enacted economic sanctions against Russian interests to try to lessen Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
The number of victims of the conflict is unknown, but various sources, including the UN, say it will be high.
Source: TSF
