Several wounded as 620 drones launched towards Moscow region

MOSCOW: A total of 620 drones flew towards the Moscow region overnight, Russian officials said on Tuesday, reporting that several people were wounded and buildings were struck.

With frontline fighting at a near standstill and talks frozen, Ukraine and Russia have significantly stepped-up long-distance attacks, pushing the civilian death toll to its highest levels since the war’s first months in 2022.

Russian air defences destroyed more than 180 of the drones over the capital region, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the state-backed MAX platform.

The drone swarm wounded three people, including a 10-year-old girl, Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.

“Tonight, and in the morning, air defence and electronic warfare forces were repelling a large-scale drone attack on Moscow region,” he said.

The “most serious consequences” were reported in the Pavlovsky Posad district, where a house burned down, Vorobyov said.

A drone also struck a warehouse east of Moscow belonging to e-commerce giant Wildberries.

“The company’s logistics complex in Moscow region sustained minor damage as a result of the attack. Debris hit the wall of the building,” the company said in a statement.

Ukraine has struck multiple Wildberries warehouses in recent weeks, saying the company supplies components for Russian drones.