Russia downs Ukrainian drones, missiles day after its attack on Kyiv

KYIV: Russian air defences have intercepted Ukrainian drones over several regions inside its territory, including Moscow, just a day after Kyiv reported the “largest drone attack” on Ukraine since Moscow invaded the country in February last year.

“Air defence destroyed four Ukrainian drones over the territory of the Bryansk, Smolensk and Tula regions,” Russia’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday. Earlier, Russia said some drones were shot down over the Moscow region.

The Russian army said it had also downed two Ukrainian missiles headed for Russia over the Sea of Azov, between the two countries.

Ukraine, meanwhile, said its air defence had downed eight out of nine drones over the country on Sunday.

On Saturday, Ukraine said Moscow had launched 75 drones into the country, mostly aimed at the capital.

The attack came as Kyiv marked Holodomor, the Soviet-engineered starvation tragedy that killed millions of Ukrainians during the Stalin era.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack an act of “willful terror”, saying “the Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill”.

Ukraine has hit Russian regions and the annexed Crimean Peninsula with drones for months, launching a counteroffensive this summer to push back Russian forces.

Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine after the pro-Moscow government of President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown following a popular uprising in 2014.

Courtesy: aljazeera