Kiev [Ukraine], November 11: Russian forces launched a record 145 aerial drones at Ukrainian territory overnight, surpassing the previous record of 135 on October 18, the air force announced in Kiev on Sunday, as Russia reported Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Moscow.
Sixty-two of Russia's drones had been destroyed, while a further 67 had disappeared from radar screens, Kiev said. Other drones had flown into the airspace of Belarus or Moldova, Ukraine's neighbours to the north and west.
"Last night, Russia launched a record 145 Shaheds and other strike drones against Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X on Sunday, referring to Iranian-made kamikaze drones.
Russia has attacked Ukraine over the week with more than 800 guided aerial bombs, around 600 strike drones and nearly 20 missiles of various types, Zelensky said.
"Such terror cannot be stopped with words, and the killing of children and the loss of loved ones cannot simply be forgotten.
"Security from terror is impossible without bold decisions-this is clear for every country.
"Without justice, there is no lasting peace, and it is quite realistic for Ukraine to achieve it," the Ukrainian president wrote.
Odessa on the Black Sea was worst hit, with apartments, businesses, cars and garages damaged, the Ukrainian authorities said. Injuries were also reported without details being provided.
Meanwhile in Moscow, the Defence Ministry said it had repelled 70 Ukrainian drone attacks, 34 of them in the Moscow region during the early hours. A total of five people were injured, the ministry said.
After being shut down for several hours, the main Moscow airports reopened on Sunday.
One woman in the Ramenskoye district suffered burn wounds when fragments of a downed drone fell on her house. Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov wrote on Telegram that four houses caught fire after being hit by falling debris when the drones were shot down In the village of Stanovoye, south-east of Moscow, a 52-year-old woman sustained burn injuries to her neck, face and hands and was taken to hospital, Vorobyov added.
He described the incident as a mass drone attack. Footage on social media, said to be of the impact sites, showed houses on fire.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the most affected areas in the region around the capital were Ramenskoye, Domodedovo and Kolomna.
In early September, Ukraine caused significant damage with a massive drone attack in and around Moscow for the first time in more than two and a half years of war.
In the south-east of the city, a strike caused a fire at the large Kapotnya refinery, 16 kilometres from the Kremlin. Until then, Ukrainian drone flights targeting Moscow had mostly symbolic significance and caused little damage.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been subjected to nightly Russian air raids targeting critical energy infrastructure, among other things.
Source: Qatar Tribune