Russia Says It Downed Most of 613 Drones Sent Toward Moscow

Russia said its air defenses downed most of 613 drones heading toward Moscow overnight, in one of the largest Ukrainian drone waves reported against the Russian capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin gave the figure on Telegram on Thursday, Reuters reported. Ukraine did not give its own count in the first reports, and the intended targets of the drones were not specified.

In the same night, Russia attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, and damaged an educational institution there, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. The first reports did not give the extent of the damage or say whether anyone was hurt.

What is known, and what is not

Both accounts come from city officials speaking on Telegram in the first hours after the attacks, and neither side published evidence with its claim. Reuters reported the two statements side by side on Thursday morning. No casualty figures were reported from either city in the initial coverage, and Moscow did not say in its first statement how many drones got through, only that most of the 613 were downed.

The number itself is the news. A wave counted in the hundreds, aimed at the capital, is a scale of attack that tests air defenses built to protect the seat of government, command sites and the airports and bases around the city. Even when most drones are intercepted, falling debris and the cost of the interceptors used against cheap drones are part of the exchange.

Kharkiv's familiar night

Kharkiv sits in northeastern Ukraine, close to the Russian border, and has faced repeated Russian attacks since the full scale invasion began in February 2022. Schools and other public buildings in the city have been hit before, and local authorities report damage as emergency crews reach the sites. Thursday's report of a damaged educational institution fits that pattern, though the details of this strike were still thin by morning.

Ukraine has used long range drones throughout the war against Russian military and strategic targets, and Russian officials have repeatedly reported drone attacks aimed at Moscow and other regions. The overnight wave shows the conflict's reach well beyond the front lines, at a moment when both sides continue to strike far behind them.

What comes next

Officials in both cities were expected to update their accounts during the day, including any casualty figures and any damage on the ground in Moscow's region. Until those updates arrive, the verified core of the story stays narrow: 613 drones reported toward Moscow, most downed, and a Russian strike that damaged a school building in Kharkiv.