The weekend of November 25-26, 2023 has seen one the most intense episodes to date of the drone war over Ukraine. 

On the night of November 24-25, Russia launched against Kyiv the largest drone attack since the start of the war.. 

Up to 75 Shahed drones launched from Russian-held territory to the southeast of the Ukrainian capital as well as across the border to the northeast, converged for a massed attack on Kyiv. All but one were shot down, according to Ukrainian sources, although falling debris damaged several buildings in Kyiv, injuring five people, including an eleven year-old. 

A Russian Kh-59 cruise missile was also intercepted by Ukrainian air defences over the Dnipropetrovsk region. 

On the following night there was another drone attach against Kyiv. This eight of the nine drones involved in the attach were intercepted before they could reach their targets. 

Ukraine responded to these attacks by mounting its own attach against the Moscow and and other cities in Western Russia. 

The mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobianin, stated on his Telegram channel that eleven Ukrainian drones had been shot down on the night of November 25-26, while approaching the Russian capital. These were followed by another 13 drones in the early hours in the morning.

Explosions were reported in the Naro-Fominsk and Odintsovo districts, in the outskirts of the Russian capital, as well as in the Kaluga, Tula, Briansk and Smolensk regions, to the west and south of the city. 

An out-of-control drone impacted a residential building near Tula, with one person reportedly injured. 

Several videos of the alleged drone impacts have appeared on Russian social media channels.

During the attacks, Vnukovo (VKO) and Domodedovo (DME) airports, in Moscow, had to stop operations temporarily, with the result of several flights being delayed or cancelled. Some flights at Sheremetevo airport (SVO) were also delayed.