MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday that Ukraine had fired a missile at Moscow and attacked Crimea with 42 drones, in one of the largest coordinated Ukrainian air strikes known to date on Russian-controlled territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down a modified S-200 missile over the Kaluga region, bordering the Moscow region. Kaluga is located less than 200 kilometers from Moscow.
The Defense Ministry said: “The missile was detected and destroyed by air defenses over the territory of the Kaluga region.”
Kaluga governor Vladislav Shapsha said there were no casualties.
The ministry also said that Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, had been attacked. It added that the air defense forces destroyed nine drones, while the electronic warfare nullified 33 aircraft, and they crashed over the Crimea peninsula without reaching their targets.
Ukraine says Crimea is part of its internationally recognized territory.
Mikhail Razvozaev, the governor of the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, who was appointed by Moscow, said via the Telegram messaging app that a number of drones were destroyed over a promontory of Khersones, on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attacks, which Russia blamed on Ukraine. Russian airports have suspended flights for a few hours.
The attack was the latest in a series of similar attacks since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.
Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russian military infrastructure helps Kiev’s counteroffensive.
Reporting by Lydia Kelly in Warsaw;
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