Moscow mayor says air defences downed three approaching drones

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, said on Wednesday that air defence forces had downed three drones en route to Russia’s capital.

“The Defence Ministry’s air defence forces repelled an attack by three drones flying towards Moscow. Emergency services specialists are working at the site where the debris fell,” Sobyanin said on Telegram.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that air defence units had shot down 159 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions, and that at least six had been shot down over the Moscow region, which has a population of over 20 million.

Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Wednesday that three of Moscow’s airports had resumed operations after temporary restrictions had been introduced to ensure the safety of flights.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Andrew Osborn)