# Three reportedly killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow as peace talks begin

Ukraine has launched its largest drone attack on Moscow hours before US and Ukrainian teams convened for peace talks in Saudi Arabia.

The Russian defence ministry reported that 337 drones were launched at  overnight on Monday, including 91 targeting the Moscow region, killing three people, causing fires and disrupting flights and train services.

A senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday the drone attack should encourage  to accept an aerial and naval ceasefire that Ukraine is expected to propose during the talks in Saudi Arabia.

“The largest drone attack in history was carried out on Moscow and the Moscow region,” said Andriy Kovalenko, a national security council official responsible for countering disinformation. He added: “This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air.”

Russia’s health ministry reported that 18 people were injured in the Moscow region.

The Russian aviation watchdog said flights were suspended at all four of Moscow’s airports. Two other airports, in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions east of Moscow, were also closed.

A Telegram channel with links to the security services, citing a former Russian serviceman who reportedly shot down one of the drones with a hunting rifle in a small village outside Moscow, claimed that Russian forces are gaining the upper hand on the battlefield.

Russian officials and pro-Russian outlets frequently say drones have been shot down and their debris damaged housing or facilities – regardless of whether the drones hit their intended military targets.

Ukraine routinely launches drone attacks on Russia, targeting infrastructure critical to Moscow’s war effort. Tuesday’s attack was the largest on the capital this year, coming hours before US and Ukrainian teams were to meet for peace talks in Saudi Arabia. The timing appeared to send a clear signal to Moscow and Washington that Kyiv was not prepared to accept an unfavourable peace deal and remained a formidable military force.

Like their Ukrainian counterparts, Russian officials and Moscow-aligned Telegram channels also linked the attack to the peace talks.

“... the meaning behind this largest drone attack on the Moscow region is clear – it coincides with the start of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, where Ukraine will try to push for an air and naval ceasefire that is entirely unfavourable to Russia,” wrote the popular pro-Kremlin channel MIG Russia.
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