Ukrainian drones hit Moscow, fire breaks out in Tula: Russian officials

Ukrainian drone attacks target Moscow overnight, Russian officials said, with multiple drones downed and an industrial fire reported in Tula.

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Smoke rises after a Ukrainian drone attack in Sergiev Posad, Moscow region, about 70 km north of Moscow, July 4, 2025. [File photo] / AP

Ukrainian overnight drone attacks targeted Moscow and sparked an industrial fire in the Tula region, which lies directly south of the Russian capital, regional authorities said on Wednesday.

At least three drones targeting Moscow were downed, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app.

He said emergency services were dispatched to the sites where the drone debris fell, but he did not immediately report any damage.

Two of the four major airports serving the capital limited operations, Russia’s civil aviation authority said in a Telegram post.

The Russian defence ministry said its air defence units destroyed 172 Ukrainian drones overnight, nearly half of them over regions bordering Ukraine.

Debris from a downed Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at an industrial site in Russia's Tula region, Tula Governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Telegram.

Milyaev did not give details about the industrial facility.

He said that Russian air defence units destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones over the region.

Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes deep inside Russia, saying it is targeting military, energy and logistics sites to disrupt Moscow’s war effort, in response to Russia’s continued strikes on Ukraine.