Ukraine has launched a massive drone strike on Moscow, causing disruption at all the Russian capital's major airports just as voting got under way in Vladimir Putin's parliamentary election. The poll is the first since the dictator invaded Ukraine in 2022 in a war which has seen around half a million Russians killed.
More than 350 drones reported
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed more than 350 drones flew towards Moscow and the surrounding region in an 11-hour period - one of the highest of the war. A total of 64 were shot down as they approached the capital, with most neutralised "at a distance", he reported.
"Specialists from emergency services are working at the crash sites," he said. It was the second largest mass attack on Moscow since Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month warned that planes should avoid flying in Russian airspace due to the drone threat caused by Vladimir Putin refusing to halt the war. Moscow's major airports Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo were all hit by disruptions to flights.
Election under way
A total of 629 Ukrainian overnight drones were shot down or disrupted over Russia, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. Russian authorities said today that over 234,000 people voted electronically in Moscow elections in the first half hour of polling. Putin is expected to extend his grip on power in the elections after the only anti-war party Yabloko was banned from the ballot in the stage-managed election, dismissed as "sham" and "rigged" by critics.
Other strikes reported
In other Ukraine strikes, two military airfields in Rostov-on-Don and Yeysk was reported ablaze. It was the second attack in two days on Rostov-on-Don following Thursday's attack when six aircraft including a hulking An-12 transport plane were damaged in strikes costing up to £45 million. Russia blitzed Aormst shopping centre in Zaporizhzhia city, igniting it in flames.
Head of the regional military administration Mykhailo Semikin said a "beloved" place of locals had been destroyed in the strike on civilian infrastructure. "A place that brought together housewives, workers after their workday, and young people has been lost," he said. "This is a tragedy. Considering the values of our nation, this is a failed attempt by the enemy to destabilise us."
