Russia Conducts 3-Hour Drone Strike on Odesa, Ukraine Responds with Drone Targets in Moscow

Early on Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone assaults, as stated by officials. Kyiv seems to have targeted Moscow once more, and the Kremlin’s forces retaliated with a renewed attack on Ukraine’s grain storage facilities. These tactics have become a defining feature of the ongoing conflict, which has been in effect for nearly a year and a half.

The Russian forces carried out a three-hour nighttime drone offensive in the southern region of Ukraine’s Odesa on Tuesday night, leading to a fire at the grain facilities. This information was reported by the Head of Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, via the Telegram messaging application.

Ukraine’s air defense systems successfully intercepted nine Shahed drones, according to Kiper.

He expressed regret about the damage to production and transshipment infrastructures but also added that there were no reported casualties.

Last month, Russia focused its attention on Odesa, causing extensive harm to the port city’s grain facilities. This occurred just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin terminated Russia’s involvement in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allowed Ukrainian exports to reach multiple nations at risk of famine.

On the other hand, Russian officials asserted that they had shot down Ukrainian drones in Moscow and its neighboring areas early Wednesday, as reported by the defense ministry and the mayor. The drone attack, now a near-regular event in the Russian capital, resulted in no casualties.

Moscow’s Mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, stated that a drone collided with a building under construction in Moscow City, a prominent business area that had previously been hit twice by drones. Nearby buildings sustained broken windows, and emergency services were dispatched to the location.

Russia’s Defense Ministry revealed that the drone had been electronically disrupted and blamed Ukraine for the assault. Two additional drones were reportedly brought down by air defense systems in the Moscow region’s Mozhaisk and Khimki areas. As has become typical, Kyiv officials neither confirmed nor denied their responsibility for the drone attacks.

Russian state media informed that Moscow’s airports, though briefly closed, have since been reopened.

Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has actively sought to intensify the conflict within Russian territory. The focus has been on attacking Moscow’s military assets in eastern and southern Ukraine and initiating drone strikes against Moscow.

Despite the frequency of drone attacks on Russian territory in recent times, they have inflicted minimal damage and caused no casualties. Ukraine has refrained from recognizing responsibility for the attempted drone strikes.

In addition to the military efforts, Kyiv is also maintaining pressure on the Kremlin on several other fronts. This includes a counteroffensive along the 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) front line, as well as diplomatic measures to secure further support from Western allies, such as pledges for additional weaponry like F-16 warplanes.

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More about drone strikes

• AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine
• Information on the Black Sea Grain Initiative
• Details about the Shahed drones