Drones descend on Russia as Moscow suffers sixth night of attacks and three civilians killed in Belgorod
A drone hit a high-rise building in central Moscow early on Wednesday, the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has said via Telegram.
Two other drone attacks on Moscow were "destroyed by air defence systems" according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
While there were not any casualties reported in Moscow, three civilians were reportedly killed in a drone strike on a village in Russia's Belgorod region.
The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov said via his Telegram channel: "As a result of repeated attacks on a sanatorium in the village of Lavy three civilians were killed."
Lavy is approximately 13 miles (21km) from the Ukrainian border with Russia.
Drone strikes in Russia have become increasingly common in recent months, with Moscow reportedly suffering six straight nights of drone strikes.
Ukraine has not commented on the attacks.
As the largest donor of military lethal aid to Ukraine, the United States said it does not support attacks on Russia.
According to a report by Reuters, a spokesperson from the US State Department stated, "The United States does not encourage or enable attacks inside Russia."
The spokesperson also said: "It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses defends itself," adding that Russia could end the war any time by withdrawing from Ukraine.
Ukraine has increasingly ramped up its use of drones to hit key buildings, often with pinpoint accuracy.
Drone attacks have successfully eliminated a building being used to house a Russian surveillance camera system, as well as a police station in the occupied city of Enerhodar on the southern side of the Dnipro River.
A recent drone strike destroyed Russia's 'flagship' bomber, a TU-22M3, on an airfield in Novgorod, more than 650 miles away from the border with Ukraine.
The UK Ministry of Defence said: "This is at least the third successful attack on Russia's Long-Range Aviation, again raising questions about Russia's ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country."
Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukrainian coastal infrastructure overnight, launching nine Iranian-made Shahed drones at Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.
These attacks follow Russia's withdrawal from an agreement which previously allowed Kyiv to export grain through the Black Sea.
Ukraine has concentrated counter-offensive efforts in the south of the country, having recently gained a foothold in the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne.
According to intelligence from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) Russia’s logistics network in the south has been severely disrupted as a result of Ukrainian precision strikes.
Ukrainian precision strikes have damaged bridges between southern Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea.
"As of mid-August 2023, Russian forces were continuing to employ pontoon bridges at Chonhar and Henichesk crossing points on the border between southern Ukraine and occupied Crimea," an MOD intel report said.
Makeshift pontoon bridges will not be able to withstand heavy vehicles carrying ammunition and weaponry to the front, creating a bottleneck in Russia's supply chain.
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