Ukraine fires massive drone barrage at Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ukraine launched one of its largest ever attempted drone attacks on Russia overnight, Russian authorities said on Wednesday, sending almost 300 drones across the country, including dozens towards the capital Moscow.

“Anti-aircraft defense systems destroyed and intercepted 296 Ukrainian aerial drones,” overnight, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

At least 42 were shot down over the Moscow region, which surrounds the capital, governor Andrey Vorobyov said on social media, posting photos of firefighters tackling a blaze at a wooden residential house.

Moscow’s three major international airports were forced to suspend flights for hours overnight amid the barrage, aviation authorities said.

The attack comes after Russia pummeled Ukraine with a record drone attack over the weekend, in strikes that Kyiv said killed at least 13 people.

Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones in the three days up to Monday. Thirteen civilians were killed in attacks on Sunday, including three children.

Russia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that those strikes were a response to Ukrainian drone attacks that had caused Russian civilian casualties.

Moscow has escalated its air attacks in recent months even as United States (US) President Donald Trump pushes the sides to halt the fighting and as negotiators held their first direct talks in more than three years.

Trump issued a rare rebuke of Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the weekend, calling him “crazy” after Russia launched its largest ever drone attack on Ukraine.

Trump again warned Putin Tuesday that he was “playing with fire,” showing his frustration with stalled peace talks.

“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump did not specify what the “really bad” things were, or make any specific threats. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Agence France-Presse.

But the Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported that Trump was now considering fresh sanctions against Russia as early as this week, while stressing that he could still change his mind.

He told reporters on Sunday he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.

Despite months of US-led diplomacy, the two sides appear no closer to striking a deal to end the three-year-long conflict, triggered by Russia launching its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.

Tens of thousands have been killed, much of east and southern Ukraine destroyed, and Moscow’s army now controls around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.