Russian air defence units destroyed a Ukrainian drone swarm against the Russian capital Moscow for the second night in a row, shutting down all airports in the capital for several hours, officials said in the early hours of Tuesday, the 6th of April, according to Reuters and the British broadcaster BBC.
The attacks come ahead of Moscow’s commemoration on the 9th of May of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced a three-day ceasefire from the 8th to 10th of May to mark the anniversary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the measure meaningless and offered an unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days, in line with a US proposal made in March.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated on social media that at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed “from different directions” approaching Moscow, without causing major damage or injuries.
He said that some debris had fallen on one of the city’s main roads, but there were no casualties.
The three major Telegram news channels cooperating with the Russian security services – Bazaar, Mash and Shot – reported that a drone hit an apartment building near a main road in southern Moscow, breaking windows.
All four of the capital’s major airports were closed for several hours to ensure security, but later reopened, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia reported on Telegram. Airports were also closed in several regional cities.
THIS IS THE SECOND NIGHT IN A ROW THAT RUSSIA HAS REPORTED A UKRAINIAN DRONE ATTACK – ON MONDAY THE RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAID IT DESTROYED 26 UKRAINIAN DRONES OVERNIGHT.
In addition to Moscow, the governors of other Russian cities, including Penza and Voronezh, said they were attacked by drones overnight on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone hit the Barabashovo market in Kharkiv, one of the largest in Ukraine and Europe, and part of the market caught fire. The city was attacked 20 times during the night. Four people were injured.
Since the start of the Russian-led war, Kyiv has carried out several drone attacks on Moscow. Its largest attack on the Russian capital in March killed three people.
This follows reports on Monday of new Ukrainian attempts to cross into Russia’s Kursk region. Kyiv said a drone hit a command unit near the Russian village of Tyotkino in the Kursk region on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
In April, Moscow said it had regained control of the entire region nine months after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise invasion. Kyiv insists that its soldiers are still operating on the other side of the border.
Several Russian military bloggers said that Ukrainian forces had tried to enter a border village and shared unconfirmed pictures of vehicles driving past tank traps on the border.
On Monday, blogger RVvoenkor reported that Ukraine fired rockets at night, destroyed bridges and used mine-clearing vehicles, which were followed by the armed forces. Heavy fighting continued along the border, the blogger reported.
“Nine months after the start of the Kursk operation, the Ukrainian Defence Forces maintain a military presence on the territory of Russia’s Kursk region,” Ukraine released a statement on Monday.
Although there has been no official response from Moscow, some military bloggers have also published maps showing Ukrainian forces attempting to cross the border towards Tyotkino at two locations.
Meanwhile, in Sumy, in north-eastern Ukraine, about 12 km across the border from Tyotkino, local authorities called on residents to evacuate two settlements, according to Reuters.
The extent of Tuesday’s drone attack was not fully clear. Kyiv did not immediately comment on Tuesday’s drone attack.