Russians report Ukrainian drone shot down near Moscow
Russian authorities have claimed that one of Ukraine's drones, which was en route to Moscow, was intercepted and shot down by their armed forces on Saturday. According to a report by the BBC on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the drone was intercepted over the Bogorodsky region, located on the northeastern outskirts of Moscow. This happened after Russian drones reportedly attacked Kyiv earlier.
11:06 AM EST, November 19, 2023
Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, asserted that there were neither damages nor casualties resulting from this incident. The Ukrainian authorities are yet to provide any comments on this matter.
The news of this drone being shot down came after Ukraine announced that they had successfully intercepted and brought down 29 out of 38 Iranian Shahed drones that were launched by Russia the previous night, as reported by the BBC.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded the Ukrainian air forces for their accomplishment in shooting down the drones. According to Russian reports, this is the highest number of drones they have launched in over six weeks.
"The precision of our forces is literally saving lives in Ukraine," President Zelenskyy said during an evening speech.
He also warned of an escalation in Russia's attacks as winter approaches.
Potential Russian winter attack
The Ukrainian President stated that Russia might be planning to store up missiles in preparation for an intensified winter assault on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The drone attacks carried out by Russia on Friday resulted in power outages in more than 400 towns and villages across Ukraine. They also caused damage to an oil depot located in Odesa, in the southern part of the country, leading to power loss for over 1,500 residents.
Ukraine reported that nearly 21,000 residents of the Donetsk region experienced power loss, and 63 settlements in the Zaporizhia region were disconnected from the energy grid.
