Russia reported a large-scale drone attack overnight into Sunday. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., air defence forces allegedly intercepted and destroyed 61 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga, Tula, Oryol, and Kursk regions, as well as the Moscow area and occupied Crimea.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced throughout the night that at least 10 drones had been shot down over the Moscow region. On Saturday night, he had reported five drones being intercepted. No information was provided about the consequences of the attacks on the capital. Meanwhile, Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyov said drone fragments fell in five locations, injuring two people.
Kaluga region governor Vladislav Shapsha reported seven drones being shot down. Early morning departures and arrivals were temporarily halted at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, as well as at Kaluga airport. The restrictions were lifted by midday.
The most serious incident occurred in the town of Novomoskovsk in Russia’s Tula region. According to local reports, five to eight explosions were heard at the Azot chemical plant, part of the EuroChem holding and one of Russia’s largest producers of ammonia, nitrogen fertilizers, chlorine, resins, and other chemicals. The Tula region governor confirmed the drone strike and fire. Preliminary information indicated that two people were injured but their lives are not in danger. No excess levels of air pollutants have been detected, he added, with monitoring ongoing.
This was the second drone strike targeting the Azot facility in recent weeks. A previous attack in late May caused a fire in a gas pipeline at the plant and damaged large tanks containing nitric acid, one of which spilled its contents. The facility temporarily suspended operations.
Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 49 attack drones on Ukraine overnight, targeting primarily the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot down 40 drones, but hits were recorded in five locations.