What do we know about drone attacks in Russia?

Russia has accused Ukraine of trying to termination President Vladimir Putin successful a drone onslaught connected his residence successful the Kremlin successful Moscow.

Two drones were brought down by Russian aerial defences, according to Kremlin officials who said Mr Putin was not determination astatine the time.

Ukraine has denied this, claiming that Russia staged the attack.

In caller months, determination person been a fig of suspected drone attacks wrong Russia and Russian-occupied territory successful Ukraine.

Last month, a drone came down successful the municipality of Kireyevsk, astir 400km (249 miles) from the Ukraine border, injuring astatine slightest 3 radical successful an detonation aft it was brought down, Russian authorities media said.

A representation of the wreckage appeared to beryllium accordant with a UJ-22 - a benignant of drone manufactured by Ukraine.

It has a scope of 800km (497 miles) successful autonomous flight. Its scope nether directly-controlled formation is overmuch shorter.

In December past year, a drone onslaught deed an airbase 600km (372 miles) north-east of the Ukrainian border, according to the Russian military.

None of these attacks person been officially claimed by Ukraine.

However, Kyiv's subject has said that undermining Russia's logistics forms portion of preparations for its long-expected counter-offensive.

Since the commencement of 2023, the BBC - by analysing Russian media reports - has tracked implicit 20 suspected drone attacks wrong Russia and Russian-controlled territory successful Ukraine.

These person mostly been successful the Bryansk and Belgorod regions successful Russia, arsenic good arsenic successful Russian-annexed Crimea - successful particular, its superior Sevastopol.

Among the targets were lipid facilities, airfields and obstruction lines.

Drones person been deployed by some sides successful the struggle truthful far, with galore utilized for surveillance and targeting.

In presumption of range, experts accidental drones launched from Ukraine could scope Russian territory, and arsenic acold arsenic Moscow, which is astir 450km (280 miles) from the border.

"Although Ukraine has not confirmed that its equipped forces carried retired the attacks, I deliberation that the pre-emptive raids we person seen past twelvemonth beryllium that Ukraine has the capableness to motorboat agelong scope attacks of that benignant from wrong Ukrainian territory," says aviation adept David Cenciotti.

Drone specializer Steve Wright besides said it was imaginable that a drone could deed the Kremlin having been launched from wrong Ukraine.

But helium added: "My conjecture is that the drone was launched from acold person successful than that, arsenic this would debar it having to tally the gauntlet of overmuch of Moscow's defences."

Ukraine's Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov precocious boasted of a Ukrainian drone called the R18 that "can alert from Kyiv to Moscow and back".

But helium denied that helium was calling for drone strikes connected Moscow.

Mr Cenciotti says: "Ukraine has made extended usage of respective drones, with the Bayraktar TB2 drone emerging arsenic the existent prima of the aerial warfare for Ukraine, inflicting dense losses connected Russian forces, immoderate of those caught connected portion and circulated online."

Turkey has sold Bayraktar TB2 equipped drones to Ukraine successful caller months, portion the Turkish shaper of the drones has donated immoderate to crowd-funding operations successful enactment of Ukraine.

Additional reporting by Joshua Cheetham, Thomas Spencer, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Paul Brown