Pskov Airfield: Sky glows orange during largest drone strike on Russian territory since war began
The UK has said Vladimir Putin faces the largest attack on Russia since the start of the war after it was hit by five separate drone strikes overnight on 29 and 30 August.
In its daily intelligence briefing, the MoD said explosions were recorded in Moscow, Bryansk, and Ryazan, as well as at Pskov airbase close to the Estonian border.
“During August 2023 Russia experienced 25 separate drone attacks, almost certainly carried out by [one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles],” it added.
The MoD said that since many of these drones reached their targets, it “likely means Russian air defence is having difficulty detecting and destroying them”.
“Russia is likely rethinking its air defence posture in the area between Ukraine and Moscow to better deal with these attacks,” the briefing, posted on X/Twitter, read.
Russia will likely “have to consider the addition of further air defence systems to airfields that it considers to be at risk from UAV attacks”, the MoD said.
This update comes after Ukrainian media on Wednesday reported that at least six servicemen were killed following a separate incident involving two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters in Donetsk.