Kyiv and Moscow targeted by overnight drone attacks
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Nov 19, 2023

Both Kyiv and Moscow were targeted overnight by opposing drone attacks, which were largely intercepted by anti-aircraft defences and did not result in casualties, authorities said on Sunday.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using a drone against facilities of the Russian Federation was thwarted," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow were particularly frequent in the spring, ahead of the launch of its counteroffensive in June, but they have been rare in recent weeks.

According to the Russian ministry, the drone in question "was destroyed by the air defence equipment... over the territory of the Bogorodsky urban district, in the Moscow region".

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said later on Telegram that the foiled attack "did not cause any damage or casualties".

"Emergency services were working on the site" where "the debris" from the device had fallen, he added.

Kyiv was also targeted for a second night by a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones packed with explosives that were launched by Russian forces, local authorities said, reporting "an intensification" of attacks on the Ukrainian capital.

"For the second consecutive day, the enemy attacked the capital with drones," said Sergiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, on Telegram.

The Russian drones "were launched in several groups and attacked Kyiv by waves from different directions", he said.

In total, "15 of 20 enemy drones were destroyed", the Ukrainian general staff said in a separate statement.

However "no casualties or critical destruction were recorded", according to Popko.

A day earlier, the Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 29 of 38 Shahed drones launched by Russian forces across the country -- the most drones launched by Moscow in an overnight attack since late September.

On Saturday evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected Russia to step up its attacks on the Ukrainian energy system with the aim of paralysing the country's heating and electricity supplies through the winter.

"The closer we get to winter, the more Russian attempts will be made to make the strikes more powerful," he said in his daily address, calling on his army to be "100 percent effective, despite all the difficulties, despite all the fatigue".

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