Russia says 13 Ukrainian drones downed on way to attack Sevastopol, Moscow

 Drone attacks deep inside Russian territory have increased since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.

Members of the Russian security services investigate a damaged office building in Moscow, Russia, following a reported Ukrainian drone attack on August 1, 2023

Russian forces took down more than a dozen Ukrainian drones flying towards the capital Moscow and the city of Sevastopol in the annexed Crimean peninsula, according to the country’s defence ministry.

The attack on Moscow on Thursday is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone raids deep inside Russian territory.

The defence ministry said in a statement that two drones “flying in the direction of the city of Moscow were destroyed”, while 11 others were brought down near the city of Sevastopol.

Two of the Ukrainian drones were “hit by on-duty anti-aircraft defence equipment, another nine were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and crashed in the Black Sea before reaching the target”, the ministry said of the attack.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.