MOD says Russia struggling to intercept drones after largest attack on home soil

Russia has experienced the largest attack on its territory since the start of the conflict with Ukraine, according to an intelligence report by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

During the night of 29-30 August, Russia was targeted by a number of one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVs), which struck six separate areas.

"Many of these UAVs have reached their targets, which likely means that Russian air defence is having difficulty detecting and destroying them," the MOD said.

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"Russia is likely rethinking its air defence posture in the area between Ukraine and Moscow to better deal with these attacks."

The drone attacks targeted at least six different regions in Russia, in addition to occupied Crimea.

Explosions were recorded in Moscow, Bryansk and Ryazan, as well as at Pskov airbase close to the Estonian border.

The biggest explosions seem to have occurred in the northwestern city of Pskov, where an airbase was hit, resulting in damage to at least two military cargo planes.

This month Russia experienced 25 separate drone attacks, almost certainly carried out by OWA-UAVs, according to the MOD.

Last week a Russian flagship bomber was destroyed at Soltsy airfield in Novgorod Oblast.

"Previous strikes against Russian military airbases have led to the dispersal of Russian aircraft to locations across Russia," the MOD intel report pointed out.

With Novgorod being 650km away from Ukraine's border, the recent strikes have demonstrated that the UAVs have significant reach, making further dispersal more challenging.

According to the MOD, Russia will have to consider the addition of further air defence systems to airfields.