Russian forces shoot down drones 1,000 miles from Ukraine

Russia shot down three drones over its northern Murmansk region on Wednesday, more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Ukraine, the regional governor said.

“All three drones in the Murmansk region were shot down,” Governor Andrey Chibis said in a post on Telegram, after earlier reporting the region was “under attack from enemy drones”.

Russia’s aviation agency closed two of the region’s airports “to ensure the safety of civil aircraft”, it said in a statement.

Murmansk airport, one of those closed, is around 1,850 kilometres from Ukraine.

Kyiv has built up an advanced drone industry since Russia launched its military offensive in February 2022 and regularly attacks Russian targets with self-detonating craft.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Saturday that its drones could hit targets at a range of up to 1,800 kilometres.

A woman was killed in a Moscow suburb on Tuesday when a Ukrainian drone hit a high-rise residential building, a rare strike that managed to reach the outskirts of the Russian capital.

Kyiv says the attacks are a legitimate response to Russia’s aerial bombardments of Ukrainian cities and energy sites.