The assault, which the mayor called the largest on Russia’s capital since the war began, was a reminder of Ukraine’s power to strike as its president proposes an air truce.
Marc Santora and Ivan Nechepurenko
Marc Santora reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Ivan Nechepurenko from Tbilisi, Georgia.
Russian officials said Ukraine attacked Moscow before dawn on Tuesday with its largest long-range drone bombardment of the war, as both sides stepped up attacks ahead of talks intended to end three years of fighting.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said the attack was the largest against the city since the start of the war more than three years ago. At least two people were killed and 18 others were injured, the Russian authorities said, and the city’s four international airports, serving a metropolitan area of 21 million, were forced to temporarily suspend operations.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down at least 91 drones in the region around Moscow and more than 240 drones directed at other targets across the country. The Ukrainian military did not have any immediate comment on the strikes.
President Vladimir V. Putin was briefed on the attack, according to Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman. Mr. Peskov said Russian air defenses were doing “a great job” but told reporters that the authorities “must remain on guard” because attacks would likely continue.
The predawn strikes — just hours before high-level delegations from Kyiv and the United States were scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible path toward ending the war — appeared intended to serve as a reminder that despite suffering attacks and enduring huge losses, Ukraine can still hit back at Russia.
Ukraine has proposed an immediate truce in the air, saying it would immediately stop long-range strikes into Russia if Moscow agreed to an equivalent halt.
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