A Pantsir S-1 missile system (NATO reporting name: SA 22 Greyhound) is seen on the roof of the main building of the Russian Defense Ministry on March 1, 2023, in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Dec. 19 that air defenses near the Russian capital had shot down a drone as it approached the city.
He claimed that there were no casualties or damage as a result.
Earlier in the day, Russian media reported that three drones had been shot down over Kaluga Oblast and another in the skies above Bryansk Oblast.
Three airports that serve Moscow – Domododovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky – were temporarily closed for security reasons.
Russia's Defense Ministry said that the drones were Ukrainian.
Kyiv has repeatedly targeted military infrastructure in Russia and Russian-occupied territories. It does not typically comment on claims of drone strikes within Russia immediately.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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