The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday that 1,214 Ukrainian drones targeted 20 Russian regions overnight.
This figure exceeded the previous largest-ever attack reported by Russia on Sept. 20, when 1,110 drones were launched from Ukraine.
“During the past night, air defense duty forces intercepted and destroyed 1,214 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said in a statement.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 613 drones targeted the capital region overnight.
“Most of them were neutralized by Defense Ministry air defenses on distant approaches,” he said on the Russian social media platform Max.
Sobyanin noted that 231 drones were destroyed on the approach to Moscow during that period.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said temporary restrictions on arrivals and departures were imposed at Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports “to ensure flight safety.” They were later lifted.
Two planes flying from Istanbul to Moscow turned back in mid-air and returned to Istanbul because of the restrictions at Vnukovo, a source in air traffic control services told the TASS news agency.
Restrictions were also imposed at airports in 18 other Russian cities, according to the report.
Ukraine has yet to release a statement regarding the claims, which could not be independently verified due to the ongoing conflict.
