Russia accused Ukraine of launching a series of UAVs to attack the capital Moscow and many other areas.
Russian officials on September 1 accused Ukraine of carrying out drone attacks on power plants and oil refineries in the Moscow region and neighboring Tver region, causing numerous fires, while hundreds of drones were destroyed across other parts of the country.
Drone debris caused fires at the Moscow Oil Refinery and Konakovo Power Plant in the Tver region, one of the largest energy producers in central Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Telegram that its air defense units destroyed 158 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, including nine aimed at Moscow and the surrounding area.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said several drones had targeted the Moscow oil refinery and that the fire was being extinguished in the plant’s “separate technical room”.
Russia’s TASS news agency quoted fire officials as saying the fire was assessed at the highest level of complexity and may require additional rescue units.
Tver Governor Igor Rudenya said there was a fire in Konakovo, but electricity and gas supplies were not disrupted. He did not specify which Russian facilities were on fire after the attack.
Ukraine also attempted to attack the Kashira Power Plant in the Moscow region with three drones, Mikhail Shuvalov, head of the Kashira administration, alleged. He said there were no fires, damage, or casualties as a result of the attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 46 drones were destroyed in the Kursk border region, 34 in Bryansk, 28 in Voronezh, and 14 in the Belgorod region. Several other drones were shot down in Kaluga, Lipetsk, Ryazan, and dozens of other Russian regions, the agency said.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties after the attacks.
Because the US and the West did not allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to attack Russian territory, Ukraine had no choice but to use domestically produced UAVs to cause damage to its opponents, responding to Moscow’s previous fierce airstrikes.
