Ukraine updates: Russia shoots down Moscow-bound drones

Russian  forces captured the Ukrainian village of Vovchenko, the Defense Ministry in Moscow claimed.

“Units of the Centre armed group have liberated the town of Voltchenka,” the ministry said, using the Russian spelling of the Ukraine village Vovchenko.

It is not possible to verify the claim. Ukraine rarely admits any loss of territory until weeks afterward.

Vovchenko is located in the eastern Donetsk region, on the Vovcha River, around five kilometers (three miles) from the industrial city of Kurakhove.

Kurakhove has become the new Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May 2023 following a monthslong war of attrition.

Russia said it had downed 70 Ukrainian drones over six regions, including 34 around the Russian capital Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram that the attack had occurred between 7 am and 10 am local time on Sunday (0400 and 0700 GMT/UTC).

The other regions targeted were Tula, Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol and Kursk regions, the ministry said.

The Moscow attack was the largest in the region since Russia began its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

The drone strikes forced the temporary closure of three Moscow airports, injured a 52-year-old woman and set two homes on fire in a village in the Moscow region, officials said.

The United Kingdom’s chief of defense Admiral Tony Radakin said Russia was paying an “extraordinary price” for President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Radakin said Moscow’s forces suffered an average of around 1,500 dead and injured per day in Ukraine during October, telling the BBC that it was the worst month for losses since the conflict began.

“Russia is about to suffer 700,000 people killed or wounded — the enormous pain and suffering that the Russian nation is having to bear because of Putin’s ambition,” he said. 

Radakin said that while Russia was making gains and putting pressure on Ukraine, the losses were “for tiny increments of land,” while the country’s huge increased defense spending was “an enormous drain” on the economy.

Ukraine’s air defense downed 62 out of the record 145 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said.

The air force said it lost track of 67 drones, adding that 10 drones left Ukraine’s airspace in the direction of Russia, Moldova and Belarus.

Ukraine launched at least 34 drones targeting Moscow early on Sunday, forcing the temporary closure of the capital’s airports, Russian officials said.

Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 12 of the drones were destroyed in the Ramenskoye and Kolomensky districts of the Moscow region, as well as in Domodedovo city, southwest of Moscow. 

“At the moment, 32 drones flying to Moscow have been destroyed,” Sobyanin added, before another Russian official increased the number to 34.

“According to preliminary information, there is no damage or casualties at the site of the fall of the debris,” Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app. “Emergency services are on the sites.”

Ramenskoye, some 45 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, was last targeted in Ukraine’s biggest attack on Moscow in September, when  Russia destroyed 20 drones.

Rosaviatsia, Russia’s federal air transport agency, said on Telegram that temporary restrictions were introduced at Domodedovo and Zhukovo airports to protect civilian aircraft. Later, Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport also said it had temporarily stopped taking flights. 

Several buildings caught fire in Russia’s Kaluga and Bryansk regions after overnight drone attacks by Kyiv’s forces, Russian regional governors said.

“Emergency services and firefighters are on the site,” Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Russian border region of Bryansk, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense units had destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 17 over Bryansk.

Ukraine’s military wrote on Telegram that the drone strike caused a large fire and at least eight explosions.

Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the Kaluga region, which borders the Moscow region, said a non-residential building in the region was on fire following the drone strikes.

Ukraine has often said its drone attacks on Russian territory are aimed at infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts.

At least two people were injured and buildings were damaged in an overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said.

“The enemy has once again launched a massive attack on our region,” the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region said on its social media account.

The agency said garages with cars and property were on fire and that residential buildings and shops were damaged.

Oleh Kiper, governor of the region on the Black Sea coast, said, without providing further detail, that the attack caused some fires.

Video footage posted by the emergency services showed residents gathered in front of a building watching as firefighters combed through a pile of building debris.

Reports suggest North Korean troops are preparing for combat alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, Kyiv’s top military commander said.

“We have numerous reports of North Korean soldiers preparing to participate in combat operations alongside Russian Forces,” Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Facebook.

He was speaking after a conversation with Christopher Cavoli, a senior US general who heads the US European Command.

Syrskyi said the situation in frontline sectors in the war against Russia remained “difficult and show signs of escalation.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pledged “unwavering” support for Ukraine, on the first visit by a top Brussels official to Kyiv after Donald Trump’s win. 

“The clear purpose of this visit is to express European Union support to Ukraine — this support remains unwavering,” Borrell told journalists.

“This support is absolutely needed for you to continue defending yourself against Russian aggression.” 

During the US presidential election campaign, Trump cast doubt on maintaining US military and financial aid to Ukraine and said he could pressure both sides to cut a quick deal to end the war. 

“Nobody knows exactly what the new administration is going to do,” Borrell said, pointing out that incumbent Joe Biden still has two months in the White House to make decisions. 

The EU diplomat, who himself leaves office next month, called for additional weapons, training and more speedy deliveries to Ukraine from its allies.

Europe together has spent around $125 billion (€117 billion) on supporting Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, while the United States alone has delivered more than $90 billion, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW-Kiel).

nm/wmr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)