Moscow, 31 December (H.S.): Ukraine unleashed a coordinated drone assault on Tuesday targeting Moscow, western Russian regions, and annexed Crimea, prompting Russian air defenses to neutralize 27 unmanned aerial vehicles over a three-hour window commencing at 8:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), with three intercepted directly above the Moscow region.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported via Telegram that 21 drones were downed throughout the day across his jurisdiction, where one civilian sustained non-life-threatening injuries from falling debris amid the interceptions—no fatalities or structural collapses occurred, though the incident marked a rare penetration near the capital's core.

The strikes followed Russia's unsubstantiated Monday accusation of a Ukrainian attempt on President Vladimir Putin's residence, which Kyiv dismissed as fabricated propaganda to sabotage nascent peace negotiations in the nearly four-year conflict.

Defensive Interceptions and Regional Scope

Russia's Defense Ministry detailed the repulsion via Telegram, emphasizing Pantsir-S1 and S-400 systems' efficacy against the low-flying threats, which also menaced Bryansk, Kursk, and Sevastopol in Crimea without confirmed hits on military assets.

Vorobyov confirmed the lone casualty resulted from shrapnel during a nighttime barrage over Voskresensk and Kolomna districts, approximately 100 kilometers southeast of Moscow; emergency crews responded swiftly to scattered wreckage, averting secondary fires or accidents.

No immediate damage assessments emerged from the capital strikes, consistent with Moscow's policy of minimal disclosure absent civilian infrastructure impacts.

Contextual Escalation Amid Putin Residence Claims

The barrage echoed Monday's Kremlin assertion—lacking visual or radar corroboration—that Ukraine targeted Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow, a charge echoed by U.S. President Donald Trump expressing outrage while France deemed it bereft of solid proof.

Zelenskyy's office repudiated the narrative outright, framing it as Kremlin disinformation amid intensified long-range Ukrainian operations, including recent Tuapse port and gas pipeline strikes in Russia's Black Sea flank.

Concurrently, a separate power outage afflicted 100,000 residents in a Moscow suburb due to a substation fault, unlinked to drones per authorities and SHOT Telegram sources.

Broader War Dynamics and Ukrainian Retaliation

These actions parallel Ukraine's surge in asymmetric strikes, contrasting Russia's nightly barrages—116 drones repelled overnight per Kyiv, damaging 48 sites across 19 oblasts—while Zelenskyy signals readiness for U.S.-brokered finality, rejecting pauses as theatrical. Russian tallies exceed 91 interceptions in recent waves, underscoring drone warfare's centrality nearly four years post-invasion, with neither side conceding territorial gains amid winter stalemates.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar