Russia shoots down two combat drones headed for capital: Moscow mayor

Russian forces downed two combat drones headed for Moscow, the city's mayor said on Wednesday, the latest in a surge of drone attacks targeting the capital.

"Two combat drones' attempt to fly into the city was recorded. Both were shot down by air defense," Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, without naming an attacker.

He said one drone was downed in the Domodedovo area on the southern outkirts of the city, while the second was shot down in the Minsk highway area, west of the capital.


"At the moment, there is no information about victims of the fall of the wreckage," he said, adding that emergency services were on the ground.

The strikes are at least the third attack on Moscow within a week, with Ukrainian drones downed on Sunday and Monday, according to Russian officials.

Moscow was rarely targeted throughout the conflict in Ukraine until several attacks this year.

Russia's defence ministry said Thursday it had downed seven drones over the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometres (124 miles) southwest of Moscow.

On July 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "war" was coming to Russia, with the country's "symbolic centres and military bases" becoming targets.

At the start of this month, an office block in the capital's main business district was struck twice within days by debris from a downed drone strike.