Moscow / Kyiv, 22 October. Air defences shot down 808 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight, the Russian Defence Ministry said; in Kyiv, after the night's strikes, traffic was restricted on the Southern Bridge across the Dnieper, the city military administration said.
According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, 630 drones flew towards the Moscow region between 20:30 on 21 October and 04:00 on 22 October Moscow time; most of them, he said, were destroyed. TASS's count puts the attack among the largest since the start of the year. Near the village of Voronovo in Moscow's Troitsky district, Sobyanin said, two people were injured.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had struck defence industry enterprises and transport infrastructure in Kyiv, port infrastructure in Odesa region and vessels. The ministry confirmed the strike on the Southern Bridge, describing it as a route for the transit of military cargo. The Kyiv city military administration reported restrictions on traffic across the bridge, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said part of the metro infrastructure on it had been damaged.
Russia and Ukraine will exchange the bodies of the dead on 22 October, a representative of a Russian parliamentary commission told RBC.
What it means: Two major attacks took place in a single night: according to the Russian Defence Ministry, 808 drones were downed over Russian regions, the drone raid on Moscow was one of the largest this year by TASS's count, and in Kyiv the Southern Bridge was closed to traffic after the strikes.
Who benefits: The Russian Defence Ministry names defence industry facilities and military transport routes as its targets, while the Kyiv authorities report damage to city infrastructure; there is no independent assessment of the damage in the sources. The strikes come as three-way talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine are being prepared.
Background: The US is moving the Ukraine talks to expert level with all three parties; Moscow has named mid-November and Abu Dhabi for a new round.
List of sources used: TASS, RT, RBC
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
