Ukraine Targets Moscow With Massive-Scale Drone Assault

Russian officers mentioned Ukraine attacked Moscow earlier than daybreak on Tuesday with its largest long-range drone bombardment of the conflict, as either side stepped up assaults forward of talks meant to discover a approach to finish three years of preventing.

The Russian Ministry of Protection claimed to have shot down at the least 91 drones within the area round Moscow and greater than 240 drones directed at different targets throughout the nation.

The Ukrainian army mentioned it had focused Moscow’s oil refinery, which supplies greater than a 3rd of the gas consumed within the capital area, together with an oil manufacturing station within the Orel area. Neither declare might be independently verified.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, referred to as the assault the biggest in opposition to town because the begin of the conflict. Not less than three individuals have been killed and 18 others have been injured within the broader Moscow area, the Russian authorities mentioned, and 4 worldwide airports quickly suspended operations. Railway tracks close to the Domodedovo airport south of Moscow have been additionally broken.

President Vladimir V. Putin was briefed on the assault, in accordance with Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman. Mr. Peskov mentioned Russian air defenses have been doing “an ideal job” however instructed reporters that the authorities “should stay on guard” as a result of assaults would doubtless proceed.

The predawn strikes — simply hours earlier than high-level delegations from Kyiv and america have been scheduled to fulfill in Saudi Arabia to debate a doable path towards ending the conflict — appeared meant to function a reminder that regardless of struggling assaults and enduring big losses, Ukraine can nonetheless hit again at Russia.