Russian Air Defenses Intercept 10 Drones Targeting Moscow, Ministry

Russian air defense forces intercepted and destroyed at least 10 unmanned aerial vehicles en route to Moscow early Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed in a message posted on the Max messaging app.

Sobyanin stated that the Ministry of Defense’s air defense units repelled the drone attack, and emergency response teams were deployed to the locations where drone debris fell.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced late Thursday that it had intercepted and destroyed 426 Ukrainian drones between 08:00 and 20:00 Moscow time across the territories of 12 Russian regions and the Republic of Crimea.

Escalating Drone Campaign Against Russian Territory

This latest tally forms part of an ongoing intensification of Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia, with Moscow steadily reinforcing its air defense systems to counter the rising frequency of such attacks amid continued military operations.

TASS reported the incident early Friday, citing Sobyanin’s statement that air defenses had downed 13 drones targeting the capital — a figure Sobyanin later refined to “at least 10” in his official Max post.