Ukraine fires deadly drone barrage at Russia, taking war closer to Moscow
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The authorities say a 46-year-old woman was killed in the Ukrainian drone strike in the Moscow suburb of Ramenskoye.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine struck Russia with one of its largest drone attacks of the war on Sept 10, killing a woman in the Moscow area, setting off fires in high-rise buildings and forcing the closure of major airports near the capital, Kremlin officials said.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said it had shot down 144 Ukrainian drones in multiple regions ranging from the border area near the war zone in south-western Russia to suburban towns around Moscow, highlighting Ukraine’s growing capability to strike back at Russia with a fleet of domestically made, long-range weapons.
About 20 of the drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, the ministry said.
Ukraine typically remains ambiguous about strikes into Russia and had no immediate comment on Sept 10.
Taking the war to Russia has become a focus of Ukraine’s strategy over the summer, most prominently in a surprise ground incursion into the Kursk region
At the same time, it has stepped up long-range strikes, even as Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine with missiles and pressed ahead with an offensive in the country’s east.
Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia have hit oil refineries, power plants, airfields and military factories. Ukrainian commentators have said that they are intended to disrupt logistics and provide leverage in possible settlement talks to halt Russian strikes on Ukraine.
The drones on Sept 10 flew at least 430km from Ukraine to reach the outskirts of Moscow. The capital has largely been insulated from the war, with most troops recruited from far-flung provinces, while Ukraine’s ground incursion in August came far to the south of the city.
The authorities said a 46-year-old woman in the suburb of Ramenskoye was killed in the strike; it appears to be the first time Russia has publicly announced a death in the Moscow region resulting from a Ukrainian strike.
Though Ukraine has stepped up attacks inside Russia, it is on the defensive elsewhere along the front lines, as Russia’s forces, with superior numbers, advance in the region around the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a key transit hub. NYTIMES
