Russian air defenses shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones bound for Moscow and nearly 160 more across several regions in overnight attacks that killed one person and wounded five others, officials said Monday.
Nearly four years into the deadliest land war in Europe since World War II, Russia is trying to smash Ukraine's energy system while Kyiv is trying to knock out the oil refineries of the world's second-largest oil exporter.
Russia's Defense Ministry said 34 Ukrainian drones were shot down on their way to Moscow, a city along with the surrounding Moscow region, has a population of more than 22 million people.
There were no reports of major damage in Moscow, but Russia rarely discloses the full scale impact of Ukrainian strikes inside its territory unless civilians or civilian objects are involved.
Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya said that two of Moscow's four airports, the Domodedovo airport and the smaller Zhukovsky airport, were briefly closed for safety reasons.
In total, some 193 drones were shot down by Russia, the Defense Ministry said, including 47 over Bryansk, a region in Russia's southwest that borders Ukraine.
There, a Ukrainian drone hit a minibus, killing the driver and injuring five passengers, regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has previously said that its attacks are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to conducting Russia's war in Ukraine.
Both sides deny targeting civilians, but thousands have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
