Ukraine has launched what is believed to be the largest ever drone strike against Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began in February 2022.
Russian officials said they shot down 11 drones flying to Moscow, and were forced to fend off a further 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.
It comes after Putin‘s forces bombed a children’s hospital in the wartorn Zaporizhzhia region, leaving at least one boy dead and four other young people injured.
Video footage showed Russian air defence systems working overtime through the night, with anti-aircraft systems abruptly blowing up drones across western Russia, leaving them as little more than fireballs and debris.
Many of Ukraine’s drones that targeted Moscow were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, which lies 24 miles south of the capital.
Video footage showed Russian air defence systems working overtime through the night
Vladimir Putin (pictured) has made gains in Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region
Putin’s forces hit a children’s cafe in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region
Putin was seen visiting Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov (pictured) last night
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said of the attack: ‘This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever.’
Despite this, the mayor reported that no injuries, casualties or damages were reported in the aftermath of the attack.
The governor of the Bryansk region said there were no casualties or damages in his region either.
Ukraine has not yet commented on the latest drone attack against Russia, though it did say its forces hit a missile complex in Novoshakhtinsk in Rostov.
‘It should be noted that the Russian invaders also use S-300 complexes for attacks on peaceful cities of Ukraine, destroying residential buildings and terrorizing the civilian population,’ the Ukrainian army said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
It comes after the Lavender Cafe, a children’s cafe in the Zaporizhzhia region, was struck by a Russian missile.
Distressing police pictures showed children being helped in the aftermath of the strike on civilians.
A 15-year-old boy tragically died in the strike. The others injured in the shelling were aged 11, 14, 17 and 18, said police.
A teenage girl is reportedly in a serious condition.
The destroyed cafe was in the village of Malokaterynivka, some 19 miles from the frontline, and was known to be popular with local children.
The head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said there had been a direct strike on the cafe.
‘These are the consequences of the Russian strike on Malokaterynivka,’ he said.
Many of Ukraine’s drones that targeted Moscow were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, which lies 24 miles south of the capital
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said of the attack: ‘This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever’
The Lavender Cafe, a children’s cafe in the Zaporizhzhia region, was struck by a Russian missile
A 15-year-old boy tragically died in the strike. The others injured in the shelling were aged 11, 14, 17 and 18
‘The terrorist state [Russia] mutilates civilians and will not even stop at children. We must stop this.’
The bitter war between Russia and Ukraine has escalated in recent weeks, with Ukraine boldly sending its forces into Russian territory, the biggest foreign attack against Putin’s nation since the Second World War.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said in its daily report late on Tuesday that the Ukrainians have made additional advances in their incursion, now in its third week.
It noted that Ukrainian forces appear to be striking Russian pontoon bridges and pontoon engineering equipment over the Seym River in an area west of the Kurst oblast.
The daring incursion into Russia has raised morale in Ukraine and changed the dynamic of the fighting.
Russia meanwhile, has been making headway in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the industrial region of Donbas.
Putin was last night seen with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, considered by many to be one of his closest allies, in Chechnya, where the pair were inspecting troops gearing themselves up to fight Ukraine.
Putin was last night seen with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, considered by many to be one of his closest allies, in Chechnya
Chechnya is a largely Muslim republic that is still part of Russia
Kadyrov told Putin on Tuesday that Chechnya, a largely Muslim republic that is part of Russia, had sent more than 47,000 troops since the start of the war to fight Ukraine
The Kremlin has relied on Kadyrov to keep the North Caucasus stable following years of turmoil
‘As long as we have men like you, we are absolutely, absolutely invincible,’ Putin told troops at the Russian Special Forces University, a training school in Chechnya’s Gudermes, according to a transcript on the Kremlin’s website.
‘It is one thing to shoot at a shooting range here, and another thing to put your life and health at risk. But you have an inner need to defend the Fatherland and the courage to make such a decision.’
Kadyrov told Putin on Tuesday that Chechnya, a largely Muslim republic that is part of Russia, had sent more than 47,000 troops since the start of the war to fight Ukraine, including about 19,000 volunteers.
He has described himself as Putin’s ‘foot soldier’ several times in the past.
The Kremlin has relied on Kadyrov to keep the North Caucasus stable following years of turmoil.
International rights groups have accused Kadyrov’s security forces of extrajudicial killings, torture and abductions of dissenters, but Russian authorities have stonewalled repeated demands for investigations.
The Kremlin scrambled fighters from Chechnya to help protect Moscow from an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin last year, but some commentators warned that Kadyrov’s ambitions could also potentially pose a threat to federal authorities.