Russia says it downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones, briefly shuts Moscow airports

By Guy Faulconbridge and Anton Kolodyazhnyy

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday its air defences shot down more than 370 Ukrainian drones, including some approaching Moscow, and the capital's airports were briefly shut down to ensure the safety of flights.

There were no reports of casualties.

As Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European powers discuss ways to end the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine, fighting has intensified on some parts of the front line and drone warfare has continued.

In a series of announcements, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Telegram that at least 376 Ukrainian drones were intercepted or destroyed on Wednesday. Most were over Russia's western regions bordering Ukraine and central Russia.

The latest tally issued by the ministry said 77 drones were downed in the period from 8 p.m. to 11.50 p.m. (1700 GMT to 2050 GMT).

According to a separate count issued by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, 27 drones were destroyed or intercepted en route to the capital. Some 21 million people live in the area around the city. The region's three major airports briefly halted flights twice during the day before resuming operations.

Ukraine's military said its drones hit the Bolkhovsky Semiconductor Devices Plant, a supplier in the Oryol region to Russian fighter jet and missile makers.

The war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, has become a crucible of drone innovation as both sides send the unmanned vehicles far behind front lines.

Moscow and Kyiv have sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them innovatively and devise new methods to disable and destroy them, from farmers' shotguns to electronic jamming.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces were advancing at key points along the front, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had pierced Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, the heaviest frontline battles were around Pokrovsk and made no reference to any Russian advances.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces remained active in two Russian regions along the border - Kursk and Belgorod.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited the Kursk region for the first time since Moscow said Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month.

Putin sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022 and Russia now controls just under one fifth of the country.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn, Ron Popeski, Cynthia Osterman and Rod Nickel)