MOSCOW—On Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry reported a flurry of Ukrainian drone assaults on Moscow, Novgorod to the northwest of the Russian capital, and Belgorod, which borders Ukraine.
It stated that no one was injured in the strikes, but that the drone that targeted the Novgorod region destroyed a warplane and sparked a fire at a military airport. The Novgorod area is hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Russia's Ukrainian border.
“As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the parking lot of aircraft, which was quickly eliminated by fire fighters. One aircraft was damaged,” the ministry said in a statement.
It was subsequently claimed that air defense personnel had blocked an aircraft-type drone in Moscow's northwestern outskirts, forcing it to crash near the Putilkovo village.
Drone air attacks on Russian territory have risen in recent months. After being shot down by Russian air defenses, one crashed into a building in downtown Moscow on Friday, halting air traffic at all civilian airports in the Russian capital.
On Saturday, the Defence Ministry announced a foiled attack by an aircraft-type drone in the Belgorod region, which now witnesses such instances nearly daily. According to the government, there were no injuries or property damage.
Russia's air defense troops also shot down a Ukrainian-launched missile over the Crimean peninsula overnight, according to the Defense Ministry.
