Ukraine unleashes swarm of kamikaze drones on Russia as strike sparks apartment blaze & shuts airports in Moscow

UKRAINE launched over 140 drones into Russia overnight hitting Moscow in one of the biggest attacks on enemy soil so far.

The massive blitz sparked fires near the capital and hit just 30 miles south of the Kremlin in a humiliating blow for despot Vladimir Putin.

Fire burns at a residential building in Ramenskoye near MoscowEast2West

One of the buildings hit in the attackEast2West

Ukraine hit scores of regions across Russia

Kyiv’s kamikaze drones struck the Ramenskoye district just outside the city, with dramatic pictures showing wrecked apartment blocks.

At least two high-rise buildings in the area were damaged with flats set on fire.

Three of Moscow’s four major airports were disrupted for almost seven hours as drones swarmed in the skies around the Russian capital.

One of the strikes even hit the runway at Zhukovsky airport as flights were diverted.

A fire was sparked at the airport where six explosions were heard.

Ukraine also hit other Russian regions in the impressive attack including Bryansk, Lipetsk, Tula, Kaluga and Kursk.

Much of the Kusrk region is now under Ukrainian control after President Zelensky’s forces launched a daring ambush across the border on August 6.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed to have destroyed 144 Ukrainian drones across nine different areas.

Officials claimed they held off “72 UAVs over Bryansk region, 20 over Moscow region, 14 over Kursk region, 13 over Tula region”.

Half were downed over the Bryansk border region as they headed towards Moscow. 

Twenty were intercepted over Moscow as they formed a ring around the capital, which is home to over 21 million people.

A woman, 46, was killed and three people wounded when an unmanned plane hit an apartment building Ramenskoye.

Emergency workers were later seen carrying her body out of the blitzed residential tower.

A local resident told Shot media: “I saw a fireball [and] managed to cover my wife…

“It was just a second.

“A bang and the window was blown out. We were all scared and ran in panic.”

Dozens of people were evacuated from the drone-hit building which exploded in fire on the 11th and 12th floors.

Three of Moscow’s four major airports –  Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky – were shut down temporarily during the overnight onslaught.

A total of 48 international and domestic flights were diverted to other airports, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia.

The major Kashirskoye Highway close to Domodedovo airport was hit by falling drone debris.

Russian air defences were on high alert and some of the damage was caused by debris from shot down drones, according to local authorities.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over a dozen drones heading for the capital were shot down by air defences as they swarmed near the city.

Reuters

A damaged multi-storey residential building[/caption]

Reuters

Debris caused by shot-down drones caused damage[/caption]

Footage of a fire on the runway at Zhukovsky airport