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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Arpan Rai and Andy Gregory

Ukraine war – live: Russia closes major airports as Moscow apartments hit in drone strike

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war: Footage appears to show moment drone attack hits building in central Moscow

The latest drone attack on Russia’s bomber jet likely came from inside Russian territory, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

The ministry said a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia’s Long Range Aviation (LRA) was “highly likely destroyed” at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast which is 650 km away from Ukraine’s border. It noted Russian Defence Ministry’s response that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack.

“If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia,” the British MoD said.

It comes as Russia was again forced to shut down its air space over the three biggest airports in Moscow in the early hours of this morning after a swarm of Ukrainian drones reportedly hit buildings in the capital region, officials said.

The Russian military also claimed to have brought down four Ukrainian drones near Moscow and over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine.

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