Russia downs three drones close to Moscow, near Ukrainian border, as Ukrainian shelling intensifies

Russia has downed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on their way to target the capital Moscow while Kiev forces' artillery fire wounded six people in a border town.

One drone was destroyed close to the border in the Belgorod region at 09:00 (0600 GMT), while another was intercepted over the same region at 14:15 (1115 GMT), the Russian defense ministry said Saturday, adding that a third drone headed for the capital in the early hours of the morning was also neutralized.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that one drone was brought down by air defense systems over the Istra district of the Moscow region. The district is some 50km west of the Kremlin.

"Tonight, air defense forces destroyed a drone on approach to Moscow in the Istrinskii district," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

"Preliminarily, there were no casualties or damage. Emergency services are working on the site," he added.

Moscow's three airports of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo were forced to temporarily suspend their overnight flights due to the alert, the TASS news agency reported.

In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Russian air defenses shot down a drone near the village of Kupino, with no reported damage or casualties.

He added, however, that six people had been wounded by Ukrainian forces shelling another village, Urazovo, about 10km from the Ukrainian border.

Gladkov said Kiev forces fired "cluster munitions" in Saturday's attack, and said residential buildings had been damaged.

"As a result of the cluster munition strike, 6 civilians sustained shrapnel wounds," Gladkov  said adding that "one victim is in extremely serious condition."

Initially, he reported four had been injured. Gladkov posted photos showing damage to buildings, one with its roof smashed in.

Ukraine, typically, does not comment on its attacks inside Russia.

However, cross-border shelling and drone attacks targeting Russia have been a frequent occurrence in the past months since Kiev launched its failed counter-offensive against Russia.

The Kremlin was attacked by drones in early May, and since then, the Moscow business district has been hit several times.

Other parts of the Russian capital city and wider region have also been targeted.

However, there have been no reports of serious damage in the capital, nor have the attacks caused the death of any Muscovite, undermining their effectiveness and raising questions over the purpose of Kiev's abortive drone attacks.

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