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Russian authorities shot down 59 drones headed toward Moscow on Monday and temporarily closed four airports in the capital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced via Telegram that 59 drones targeting Moscow had been intercepted and destroyed, AFP and Reuters reported.
All four Moscow airports briefly suspended operations as a result, resuming around 5:39 a.m. that day.
Ukraine has continued launching drone strikes against Russian territory in retaliation for Russian attacks. However, Sobyanin did not specify who had launched the drones.
Was recent oil refinery blast caused by Russian friendly fire?
Meanwhile, questions have emerged over whether a recent explosion at a Moscow oil refinery may have been caused by a Russian military misfire.
Social media footage verified and reported by The New York Times on June 19 showed two surface-fired anti-aircraft missiles apparently attempting to intercept a drone flying near the Moscow refinery the previous day.
The missiles flew on a low-altitude trajectory toward a fuel storage tank, which immediately burst into flames. The missiles captured in the footage are believed to be man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, which Russian soldiers can fire from the shoulder.
The New York Times said separate social media footage showed Russian soldiers firing MANPADS from a road near the refinery in an attempt to shoot down Ukrainian drones.
Alastair Saddington, a professor of defense and aerospace at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, said firing MANPADS inside an urban area is far from an ideal option given the systems' low-altitude flight characteristics. He said the decision reflects the desperation of Russia's situation.
yul@heraldcorp.com
