Ukraine targets Moscow in massive drone attack, one of largest since war began

Russian defenses shot down dozens of armed drones, including several in the Moscow region, in one of the biggest assaults on Russian territory since the war began, Russian authorities said Wednesday.

Some of the drones were shot down over Podolsk, a city of more than 300,000 people about 20 miles south of the Kremlin, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

"This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever," Sobyanin said in a social media post Wednesday. "The layered defense of Moscow that was created made it possible to successfully repel all the attacks."

The assault comes four days after a drone attack in the Russian border region of Rostov ignited a massive fire at a fuel depot. Russian Orthodox priests visited the scene Wednesday, leading prayers for hundreds of firefighters still battling the blaze.

The Defense Ministry said it destroyed 45 drones over Russian territory early Wednesday, including 11 over the Moscow region. The rest were shot down over the border regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga and Kursk.

Belgorod has been a frequent target of Ukrainian shelling, and Kyiv forces seized almost 500 square miles in Kursk and took hundreds of Russian soldiers prisoner in an incursion two weeks ago.

Developments:

∎ Russian missiles and drones have hit almost 12,000 buildings in Ukraine since the war began, more than half of them civilian, said Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine armed forces.

∎ The Netherlands will provide Ukraine with more than 50 mobile radar units by the end of the year to strengthen air defenses, the Netherlands Defense Ministry announced.

∎ Russian authorities closed airports and restricted airspace in the northwestern province of Murmansk, Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported. Murmansk Gov. Andrey Chibis said a drone threat had been detected.

∎ The Kremlin is using propaganda to prepare Russians for a new normal that will include seizure of some border territory, the independent Russian website Meduza reported. The government wants Russians to realize that areas of Kursk seized by Ukraine may not be taken back soon, according to Meduza, which publishes in Latvia.

Ukraine incursion: Zelenskyy says Ukraine creating 'buffer zone' in Russia to prevent attacks

Ukraine Independence Day could bring Russian shelling

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv warned of an increased risk of round-the-clock Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine over the next several days in connection with Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday. The embassy urged Americans in Ukraine to monitor local media for updates, identify shelter locations in advance of any air alert and immediately take shelter if an air alert is announced, and follow the directions of first responders in the event of an emergency.

NATO members are leading an international campaign to Make Noise For Ukraine on Ukrainian Independence Day. People are urged to post a video making noise for Ukraine on social media with the hashtag #MakeNoiseForUkraine. Supporters are asked to clap, cheer, play an instrument, sing a song, stomp feet or ring a bell. Also suggested: Shouting ‘Slava Ukraini!’ – Glory to Ukraine!

Report: Russia scrambling to meet troop needs

Russia is developing new troop units and recruiting more personnel to sustain its war-by-attrition approach against Ukraine, the British Defense Ministry said in its latest assessment. It notes that personnel forming a new motor rifle regiment previously served as radar operators and other specialist roles. The high casualty rates resulting from troops not properly trained for battle mean Russia needs to continuously replenish front line infantry troops, the assessment added.

Those issues "almost certainly continue to limit Russia's ability to generate higher-capability units," the assessment said.

Russia refuses to negotiate with Zelenskyy government.

Ukraine’s offensive in Russia's Kursk Region has eliminated any chance of negotiations with the current government in Kyiv, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday. She dismissed President Volodymyr  Zelenskyy's apparent aims of creating a buffer zone to make it more difficult for the Russian military to attack and rejected claims the incursion would strengthen Kyiv's negotiating positions.

The stunning incursion two weeks ago drew praise from some U.S. senators who called for stepping up military aid to Ukraine, which has lost almost 20% of its territory to Russia forces since the invasion began in February 2022.

"Apparently, Zelenskyy’s aim is to use such appeals to the people to raise his plummeting rating, to prove his pseudo-legitimacy and to attract funding from the Western donors," she said. "Of course, this entire criminal scheme of the Kyiv regime was obviously doomed to fail from the outset."

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, went further, stating on social media that there could be no talks until Ukraine is "completely and utterly destroyed."

One week in Kursk: Maps show evolution of Ukrainian incursion as Russia builds trenches

Global atomic energy chief to visit Kursk plant

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he is prepared to tour the Kursk nuclear power plant by month's end, Zakharova said on Wednesday. The Russian Defense Ministry last week accused Ukraine of planning to attack the Kursk plant as part of its incursion into the region, an assertion Kyiv denied.

"We expect that an understanding of the danger that Ukrainian provocations against Russian nuclear power plants represent will prompt the IAEA's management to take concrete action to ensure safety," Zakharova said.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine launches massive drone assault on Moscow