Ukraine drones attack Moscow as NATO condemns 'irresponsible' Russian incursions
LONDON -- At least 46 drones were shot down while heading toward Moscow from Monday evening through to Tuesday, according to city Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, amid what Russian Defense Ministry data suggested was a major Ukrainian drone barrage.
Sobyanin said the first Ukrainian drones were downed at around 7:30 p.m. Moscow time -- 12:30 p.m. EST -- on Monday, with interceptions over the capital region continuing through into Tuesday afternoon.
Sobyanin reported no casualties but said emergency services were responding to reports of falling debris.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 127 Ukrainian drones from midnight on Monday through to Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, the ministry claimed to have downed a total of 236 Ukrainian drones -- the largest daily tally since Sept. 12, and the second largest daily total through both August and September to date.
Elsewhere, Andriy Kovalenko -- the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council -- suggested in a post to Telegram that Ukrainian drones also targeted the Russian city of Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan and around 565 miles east of Moscow.
Yelabuga is home to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which houses a major Russian long-range strike drone manufacturing facility.
Flight disruptions occurred across Russia amid the attacks.
Rosaviatsiya, the federal air transport agency, reported temporary restrictions on commercial flights at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
The state-run Tass news agency said disruptions affected the capital's other three airports -- Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky.
Other airports in Yaroslavl, Saratov, Samara, Begishevo, Kazan and Gelendzhik were also put under temporary restrictions, Rosaviatsiya said.
The latest Ukrainian drone strikes come on the eve of U.S. President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump's efforts to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have so far been unsuccessful. The president has expressed frustration with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling on both to make concessions to secure a settlement.
Kyiv and its European allies are pressing Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia while expanding military aide for Ukraine and offering future security guarantees to guard against repeated Russian aggression.
Upon his arrival in New York, Zelenskyy said in a post to social media, "Almost two dozen meetings are planned. A busy few days lie ahead. Ukraine must become stronger."
On Sunday, the Ukrainian president again urged international partners to do more to force Russia to negotiate an end to its three-and-a-half-year-old full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
"There is a real need for strong pressure on Russia, new joint steps from everyone in the world who believes that international law must work again," Zelenskyy said, calling specifically on "Europe, the USA, the G7 and G20 countries -- all those who have real influence on Russia."
"Strong sanctions, strong political pressure, Russia's accountability for the war -- all of this is necessary," Zelenskyy wrote. "All of this will happen."
Zelenskyy's latest appeal came amid rising tensions between Moscow and its NATO adversaries, following repeated incursions into the airspace of multiple NATO states by Russian drones and military aircraft.
On Tuesday, NATO released a statement condemning what it called Russia's "increasingly irresponsible" behavior. "Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop."
"Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions," the statement added. "We will continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing."
Russia continued its nightly long-range strike campaign overnight into Tuesday.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched three missiles and 115 drones into the country overnight, of which 103 drones were downed or suppressed.
The air force reported the impacts of all three missiles and 12 drones across six locations.
Russian strikes killed at least one person in Zaporizhzhia and another in Odesa, according to local officials, who said the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure.
ABC News' Natalya Kushnir, Helena Skinner and Othon Leyva contributed to this report.
