Mystery Projectile Lands Near Moscow as Russia Hit by Barrage of Drones

A mystery projectile landed near Moscow as Russia was hit by a barrage of drones, a Russian Telegram channel reported on Wednesday.

The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, said residents of the town of Pushchino, located 60 miles south of the Russian capital, "reported the arrival of a certain object."

The post published an image and video of the "object," which appeared to be stuck in the branches of a tree.

The Telegram channel said that residents first thought it was a drone, but assessed that it alternatively could be a missile.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the image and video and has contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment by email.

It came as authorities in three Russian regions—Belgorod, Voronezh, and Kursk—announced an overnight drone attack. A massive explosion also rocked a combined heat and power plant in the city of Shagonar, in southern Siberia, on Wednesday morning,

Russia has been hit with waves of drone strikes since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with some attacks reaching Moscow. Many strikes have targeted ammunition depots and warehouses. Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, but the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of attempting to carry out terrorist attacks using drones.

Alexander Gusev, governor of Russia's Voronezh region, said air defense systems had downed three drones. Baza, a Russian-language Telegram channel linked to Russia's security services, said that one of the downed drones was approaching a military airfield, and the others had attempted to strike an oil depot.

Ukraine has ramped up attacks on Russian oil hubs and refineries in recent weeks, forcing Moscow to approve a temporary ban on the export of gasoline last month.

Drones struck a fuel and lubricants warehouse and a mining and processing plant in Kursk's Zheleznogorsk district, the region's head, Roman Starovoyt, said.

"Today, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian drone in the Zheleznogorsk region, a fire broke out at a fuel and lubricants warehouse. The fuel tank is on fire, there are no casualties," Starovoyt said on his Telegram channel.

And in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, a drone was downed near the village of Blizhnye, the region's head, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said.

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