The number is the story this time. Sobyanin says around 194 drones were downed over Moscow overnight. The previous record for the capital was 74, back in March. So this is not an incremental step up, it is nearly triple the prior ceiling, concentrated on the city itself rather than the periphery.
The target was the Gazprom Neft refinery in Kapotnya, about 15km from the Kremlin, hit for the second time in three days. It supplies a large share of Moscow's fuel. All four Moscow airports shut down twice overnight, Sheremetyevo evacuated passengers, 170-plus flights cancelled. Putin was in Kazan for an ASEAN summit, 800km east, while this happened over the capital.
Most of the injuries in the surrounding region came from intercepted-drone debris rather than direct strikes, which is the usual pattern with attacks at this density. The thing to watch is the air defence math. If nearly 200 drones get through to Moscow airspace in one night, the interceptor stockpile and radar coverage around the capital are the constraint, and that constraint is now visible.
https://abcnews.com/International/ukraine-strikes-moscow-oil-refinery-amid-large-scale/story?id=133990719
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Submission statement: Ukraine launched what Russian officials and multiple outlets describe as the largest drone attack on Moscow since the start of the war on June 18, with Mayor Sobyanin reporting roughly 194 drones downed over the capital, nearly triple the previous record of 74 set in March. Several drones reached the Gazprom Neft refinery in Kapotnya, about 15km from the Kremlin, the second strike on that facility in three days. All four Moscow airports suspended operations twice and over 170 flights were cancelled. Zelensky confirmed Ukrainian responsibility, framing the long-range campaign as pressure toward negotiations. The open question is the air-defence ceiling around Moscow: if this drone density is now repeatable, interceptor supply and radar coverage become the binding constraint.
I wish other subs had such high quality writing. Thank you for the extra effort, it’s appreciated!
It sounds like Ukraine is learning from Iran’s tactics during the recent war. Quite ironic, that.
Or maybe this is just sounds military strategy for everyone with more than two brain cells if you have got a lot of drones and you are fighting an enemy whose main revenues come from oil. Still, it is rather impressive that Ukraine can strike Moscow that easily now.