An extensive drone attack targeted the Russian capital and its surrounding region overnight between 5 and 6 October, killing two men and injuring nine others. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, 650 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were launched towards the area, marking one of the largest such assaults in the past two years, as reported by France 24. Emergency services were deployed to sites where debris had fallen following the widespread incident.
Casualties and Impact of Moscow Drone Attack
Russian authorities confirmed two fatalities, aged 71 and 20, in two separate locations on the outskirts of the capital. Additionally, nine individuals sustained injuries. Moscow Region governor Andrei Vorobyov reported significant property damage, with 47 houses affected across seven municipalities and four apartments damaged in a residential building in the village of Lobanovo, as detailed by France 24.
Infrastructure Targeted and Airport Disruptions
The Volodarskaya Linear Production and Dispatching Station (LPDS), described as one of the largest oil storage depots and a dispatching hub for major pipelines in the region, was reported to be on fire near Volodarskogo and Konstantinovo, according to Telegram channels cited by Ukrainska Pravda. Throughout the night and morning, operations at Moscow’s four airports – Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky – faced disruptions and air traffic restrictions, as confirmed by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia). Normal operations resumed after 05:00 Moscow time, Rosaviatsia further stated. Mayor Sobyanin claimed that while 650 UAVs were flying towards Moscow Oblast, ‘most of them have been destroyed by air defence forces at long range,’ with ‘a total of 105 drones… destroyed while approaching Moscow.’ Governor Vorobyov reported that 185 drones were ‘destroyed or neutralised’ over 16 municipalities in the region.
Context of Escalating Long-Range Strikes
This incident follows a period of escalating long-range strikes by both Ukraine and Russia on civilian and industrial targets. These include energy, transport, and port infrastructure, as well as vessels in the Black Sea. Concerns over energy infrastructure attacks have been a recurring theme in the conflict. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has indicated plans to intensify strikes on infrastructure targets, including in Kyiv, as winter approaches. The recent drone assault on the capital was described by the Russian state news agency TASS as the second largest on the Russian capital and its surrounding region in the past two years, occurring hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
