(MENAFN- Live Mint) Russian air defense systems were activated overnight to fend off multiple attacks on Moscow, prompting the closure of two of the city's four airports, Russian authorities said on Monday. Over a five-hour period beginning shortly before 10 pm local time on Sunday (1900 GMT), Russian defense units shot down 28 drones, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the Telegram messaging app, a report by Reuters noted.

Two civilians were hospitalised in Russia's Bryansk region on Sunday after Ukrainian drone strikes, regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said, according to Al Jazeera. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that 16 people were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks in the western Belgorod region.

Meanwhile, the Russian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya stated that Domodedovo Airport, a major hub, and the smaller Zhukovsky Airport were closed from 2240 GMT to ensure flight safety, as per a Reuters report. No information was available regarding possible damage. Kyiv stated that its attacks target Russian infrastructure crucial to Moscow's military operations in Ukraine.

Russia's drone attack against Ukraine

Russia launched 101 drones against Ukraine overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said, with 90 of them being shot down and neutralised, Al Jazeera reported. Five drones struck four locations, and debris from the drones fell on five additional sites, the statement said. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said“several” Russian drones had been active over the city and urged residents to“remain in shelters".

He added on Telegram that fragments from the drones struck a nine-storey residential building in the northeastern Desnyansky district, causing fires in apartments on multiple floors.

As per the report, Debris also hit another nine-storey building in the same district, where five people were rescued, Klitschko said, noting that“dismantling of structures is ongoing.” Additional drone fragments fell on a 16-storey residential block in northern Kyiv's Obolonsky district, damaging an apartment, he mentioned.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said that“decisive tests are now complete” for Russia's new nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile. He made the statement during a televised meeting with military officials released by the Kremlin.

Putin directed the military to prepare the necessary“infrastructure to put this weapon into service in the Russian armed forces.” He described the missile as a“unique creation that no one else in the world possesses", noting that the Burevestnik boasts an“unlimited range.”

Russia's chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, stated that in the most recent test conducted on Tuesday, the missile flew approximately 15 hours and covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles), though he emphasized that this distance was not the weapon's maximum capability.

Putin had first revealed the development of the Burevestnik missiles in 2018, citing what he viewed as growing threats from the United States, and stated that the weapon was designed to bypass any existing defense systems.

(This is a developing story. More to come)

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