Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday that its air defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone flying over the Moscow region and six other planes heading towards Crimea, while a drone managed to destroy an oil depot in southwestern Russia early in the day.
The ministry said on Telegram that a drone was intercepted this morning Moscow time over the Istra region of the Russian capital, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin explained that the wreckage did not cause casualties or damage.
Russian air defenses also destroyed two Ukrainian drones this morning Moscow time over the west coast of Crimea, and half an hour later four other drones were destroyed over the eastern and northwestern coasts of the peninsula, according to the Defense Ministry.
A Ukrainian drone destroyed an oil depot in southwestern Russia early on Sunday, setting fire to a fuel tank that was later extinguished, a local governor said, denying any casualties in the attack.
The frequency of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory has increased since Kiev began its counteroffensive last June, and these attacks are targeting many Russian regions, including the capital Moscow, as well as Crimea.
Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, who plays a key role in building the drone sector, said on Saturday that his country would be able to launch more drone attacks on Russian ships.
Fedorov added that Ukraine's production of drones increased this year compared to the previous year, and reported that his country is testing artificial intelligence systems that can identify targets several kilometers away and direct drones to them even if external communications are disrupted due to electronic warfare measures, he said.
On the other hand, Russia denied on Saturday the departure of its forces from the Ukrainian town of Andreevka near Bakhmut, after the Ukrainian General Staff announced its removal from it on Friday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin that Ukrainian forces tried to remove the Russian army from villages near Pakhmut, but to no avail, as it put it.
In a related context, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ruled out – in an interview published on Sunday – that there will be a quick end to the Ukrainian war.
In an interview with German media group Funke, Stoltenberg said that "most wars last longer than expected when they first start," "so we have to prepare ourselves for a protracted war in Ukraine."