Russia, Ukraine launch swarms of drones

Ukraine launched a major drone strike on Moscow, injuring one and diverting flights, while Russia retaliated.

MOSCOW:

Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022, forcing flights to be diverted from three of the city's major airports and injuring at least one person.

Russian air defences destroyed another 36 drones over other regions of Western Russia in three hours, the defence ministry said. "An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an airplane-type drones on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted," the ministry said.

Russia's federal air transport agency said the airports of Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky diverted at least 36 flights, but then resumed operations. One person was reported injured in Moscow region. Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million people, is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe, alongside Istanbul. For its part, Russia launched a record 145 drones overnight, Ukraine said. Kyiv said its air defences downed 62 of those.

Ukraine also said it attacked an arsenal in the Bryansk region of Russia, which reported 14 drones had been downed in the region. Unverified video posted on Russian Telegram channels showed drones buzzing across the skyline.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final act after Moscow's forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war and Donald Trump was elected 47th president of the US. The drones strikes came as the Kremlin said it saw "positive signals" from US president-elect Donald Trump over his desire to strike a deal to end the conflict.

Trump's election to the White House has the potential to upend the almost three-year conflict and has thrown into question Washington's multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv, crucial to its defence.