Moscow: The latest in a wave of drone attacks on the capital, Russian officials reported on Wednesday that two Ukrainian combat drones heading for Moscow were shot down.

The attempted attack comes a day after Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, saw nine people killed as a result of airstrikes.

"An attempt by two combat drones to fly into the city was captured on camera. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said on Telegram that both had been shot down by air defence. He claimed that one drone was shot down in the Domodedovo neighbourhood on the city's southern outskirts and another was downed west of the capital in the Minsk highway area.

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He claimed that there were emergency services nearby.
According to the Russian defence ministry, Ukraine used unmanned aerial vehicles in its attack attempt.

The ministry stated that "air defence destroyed two UAVs," adding that there were no reported casualties or property damage.

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According to Russian officials, Ukrainian drones were shot down on Sunday in the Podolsky neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital and on Monday close to the Kaluga region, making the strikes at least the third attack near Moscow in a week.

The Russian capital had not been attacked during the conflict in Ukraine, which began more than a year ago, until a string of attacks in recent months.

Seven drones were also shot down near Kaluga, which is located less than 200 kilometres (124 miles) southwest of Moscow, according to the Russian defence ministry on Thursday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, issued a warning on July 30 that "war" was imminent and that "symbolic centres and military bases" in Russia would be attacked.

In the past few days, pieces of a downed drone attack struck an office block in the capital's main business district twice.

A day after Russia claimed responsibility for a missile attack it said was directed at a Ukrainian army command post in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, drones were shot down close to the Domodedovo and Minsk highway in Moscow.

Two missiles that were launched 40 minutes apart hurt residences, a hotel, cafes, shops, and office buildings. According to Zelensky on Tuesday, the attack resulted in at least nine fatalities and 82 injuries, including two children.

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The Russian claim that it was targeting a command post was a "absolute lie," according to Sergiy Cherevaty, the spokesman for Ukraine's operational command east.

The Russians have claimed to have destroyed it three or four times, according to Cherevaty.
Pokrovsk is only 40 km (25 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow claims it is making progress and repelling Ukrainian attacks.