Ukraine-Russia war live: Moscow and Kyiv trade aerial attacks as Zelensky signs deals to boost drone production

Russian air defence units downed six Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow yesterday, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Mr Sobyanin said specialists were examining fragments of the drones near the Russian capital. He made no mention of damage or casualties.

The governor of Leningrad region outside Russia’s second largest city, St Petersburg, said two drones had been downed, with no damage or casualties noted.

Rosaviatsiya, Russia’s civil aviation authority, reported temporary airport closures in the two cities and other regional centres and said dozens of flights had been delayed.

Officials in Russian regions reported later in the evening that seven drones had been destroyed over central Oryol, three over Smolensk in the west and four over Tver region, northwest of Moscow.

Russia’s defence ministry had earlier reported that 39 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over a five and a half hour period into the afternoon, mostly in central Russia or near the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine has inked deals with European allies and a leading US defence company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year, the war-time country’s president announced.

Volodymyr Zelensky did not name the US business in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, but said Ukraine and Denmark have also agreed to co-produce drones and other weapons on Danish soil.

“With Denmark – new agreements on coproduction. The Danish model of investing in Ukraine’s own DIB has proven its effectiveness. Joint work on the territory of Denmark, and soon in other key partner countries, is allowing us to scale up even more. This applies to drones and many other types of urgently needed weapons,” he said on Saturday night.

He added: “As per drones, we’ve also reached an agreement with one of the leading American companies to significantly increase our joint efforts.”

Ukraine has previously used homemade drones to hit high-value military targets deep inside Russia, demonstrating its capabilities and denting Moscow’s confidence.

Last month, Kyiv said it destroyed more than 40 Russian planes stationed at several airfields deep inside Russia in a surprise attack.

Outmanned and outgunned, Ukraine’s army has also turned to drones to compensate for its troop shortage and shore up its defences.

While Russia has ramped up offensives this summer on two fronts in Ukraine, analysts say the front isn’t about to collapse.

Russia and Ukraine struck each other with hundreds of drones yesterday, forcing shutdown of airports and throwing Russian air travel in disarray.

Russian air defences shot down 120 Ukrainian drones during the nighttime attacks, and 39 more before 2pm Moscow time (1100 GMT) yesterday, Russia’s defence ministry said.

It did not clarify how many had hit targets, or how many had been launched in total.

Photos and videos of the attack showed crowds huddling at Russian airports including key international hubs in Moscow and St Petersburg, as hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Saturday and overnight, according to Russia’s transport ministry.

The flight disruptions hit Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s main Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions.