03:02: Moscow’s mayor says two combat drones headed for the capital were shot down
Two Ukrainian combat drones headed for Moscow were shot down, Russian officials said on Wednesday, the latest in a surge of drone attacks targeting the capital.
The attempted attack comes a day after the death toll from strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk rose to nine.
“Two combat drones’ attempt to fly into the city was recorded. Both were shot down by air defence,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
He said one drone was downed in the Domodedovo area on the southern outskirts of the city, while the second was shot down in the Minsk highway area, west of the capital.
He said emergency services were on the ground.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine attempted the attack using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Key developments from Tuesday, August 8:
Poland’s defence ministry has agreed to send additional troops to the border with Belarus following a request from the border guard service
The UK on Tuesday slapped new sanctions on 25 companies and individuals to “close the net” on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s access to foreign military equipment. Those targeted include people and businesses in Turkey, Dubai, Slovakia and Switzerland that the Foreign Office said are “supporting the illegal war in Ukraine”.
Ukrainian special services have foiled an attempt by Russian hackers to penetrate the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ combat information system, the SBU security service said on Tuesday.
Germany has offered to extend the deployment of three Patriot air defence units in Poland until the end of 2023, the defence ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday.
Russian-installed Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemzin accused Ukraine in a social media post of shelling the city of Donetsk, killing three people on Tuesday.
Ten people were wounded, including a boy born in 2012, Kulemzin said in his Telegram channel.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
