Based on the information available up to September 10, 2024, there has been at least one reported death due to Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia. This incident was part of a significant drone attack on the Moscow region, which marked one of the largest such attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory. This attack resulted in the death of at least one woman, damage to residential buildings, and the disruption of flights in the Moscow area. This event underscores an escalation in the use of drones by Ukraine, targeting not just military but also civilian infrastructure within Russia, as part of a broader strategy in response to Russian military actions in Ukraine. The attacks have been described as some of the most significant in terms of scale and impact since the onset of the conflict, reflecting a shift in the dynamics of warfare between the two nations, with Ukraine increasingly taking the fight to Russian soil.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a daily call with reporters that the strike showed the need for Russia to continue its war in Ukraine, saying: “We must continue the military operation in order to protect ourselves from such displays of this regime.”
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier that of the 144 drones that its air defences intercepted, half were in the western border region of Bryansk, 20 were in Moscow and 14 were over the Kursk region.
State media reported that the strikes shut down four airports in Moscow and more than 30 domestic and international flights that serve the Russian capital were suspended.
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, confirmed on Telegram on Tuesday morning that three of the airports – Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Vnukovo – had resumed operations.
In other developments on Tuesday, Russia said it had captured at least three villages in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The defence ministry also said it had “liberated” the town of Krasnohorivka, also in Donetsk.