Moscow's mayor says 630 drones flew toward the capital overnight; Russia's Defense Ministry claims 808 downed across the country
Sergey Sobyanin said 163 drones were shot down on their approach to Moscow and that two people were injured in the capital's Troitsky district, TASS reported. The figures are Russian officials' claims.
As of 8:27 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 630 drones flew toward Moscow between 8:30 p.m. Moscow time Wednesday and 4 a.m. Thursday (1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET Wednesday), Russia's state news agency TASS reported.
"Most of them were destroyed by air defense forces far from the city," Sobyanin wrote on the messaging app Max, according to TASS. He said 163 drones were shot down near Moscow, TASS reported. GROKsiNEWS.com earlier reported on drone attacks that shut Moscow's airports.
What Russian officials claim
Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses destroyed 808 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russian regions between 8 p.m. Moscow time Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday (1 p.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Thursday ET), TASS reported. The ministry listed 16 regions plus the Moscow Region, Crimea and the Black Sea, according to TASS. The mayor's figure and the ministry's figure cover different areas and time periods.
Sobyanin said the attack injured two people in Moscow's Troitsky Administrative District, TASS reported. Lipetsk regional Governor Igor Artamonov said a civilian was injured in the city of Lipetsk, according to TASS.
The attempted attack on Moscow was one of the largest of the year, according to TASS's analysis of data Sobyanin published on Max.
What is not known
The figures are claims by Russian officials and could not be independently verified. TASS's reports do not include a response from Ukraine's military.
Sources
- TASS, "630 drones flying towards Moscow since late Wednesday — mayor," Oct. 22, 2026 (time not shown)
- TASS, "FACTBOX: What we know about one of largest Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow," Oct. 22, 2026 (time not shown)
