Published: · Region: Eastern Europe · Category: conflict

Largest Drone Barrage on Moscow in Two Years Exposes Capital’s Air-Defense Strain and Civilian Risk

Moscow has faced its biggest drone attack in two years, with Russian officials saying more than 600 UAVs were sent toward the capital, triggering airport closures, fires and power outages for thousands. The assault tests Russia’s layered air defenses around its political and economic center and raises fresh questions about how far the drone war between Moscow and Kyiv can escalate. Readers will see what was hit, what was intercepted, and what this says about both sides’ evolving strategies.

Russia’s political and economic heartland is no longer a sanctuary. In the early hours of 18 August, Moscow endured what Russian authorities called its largest drone attack in two years, a mass barrage that shut down airports, sparked fires near critical energy facilities and left residents around the capital facing blackouts and damaged homes. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 627 unmanned aerial vehicles headed toward the capital from the evening of 17 August into the morning of 18 August. He claimed roughly 180 were shot down over the Moscow region alone, as air-defense systems and mobile fire teams engaged targets across several oblasts. Russian sources and local reports pointed…

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