NEWS
Russia Frustrates Ukraine’s Largest Drone Strikes On Moscow
Russia successfully warded-off Ukraine’s scaled up hostilities, in what is clearly the largest ‘single’ attack since the beginning of the ongoing war in February 2022.
Russian officials revealed that on Wednesday, at least 11 drones that were shot down by air defences which frustrated Ukraine’s largest drone strikes targeted at Moscow.
Biztellers reports that Ukraine launched a total of 45 drones over Russian territory about the same time, which Russian defence sources claim were all successfully defended.
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It was gathered that for months, Ukraine had intensified efforts on winning the war with an increasingly damaging drone deployment against the refineries and airfields of Russia.
Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter, which marks out the drones’ onslaught on the capital region – with a population of over 21 million, a clear shift in Ukraine’s strategy.
The war, largely a grinding artillery and drone battle across the fields, forests and villages of eastern Ukraine, escalated on Aug. 6 when Ukraine sent thousands of soldiers over the border into Russia’s western Kursk region, according to Reuters.
However, information filtering out from Russia’s defence ministry have it that its air defences destroyed a total of 45 drones over Russian territory, including 11 over the Moscow region, 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.
The Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin revealed that some of the drones were shot down over the city of Podolsk. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 km (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
Sobyanin stated on the Telegram messaging app, on Wednesday, “This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever.
“The layered defence of Moscow that was created made it possible to successfully repel all the attacks from the enemy UAVs.”
It was gathered that the attack happened as President Vladimir Putin was locked at a meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the Kremlin.
Biztellers reports that Russia has been strategic to ensure that Moscow’s boulevards, the cafes, restaurants and shops of the capital were kept carefully insulated from the war, a code that Ukraine would have wanted to breach with her latest effort.
Russia, according to Reuters, is advancing in eastern Ukraine, where it controls about 18% of the territory, and battling to repel Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, the biggest foreign attack on Russian territory since World War Two.
In what appears to be a proof-point of Russia’s defence capabilities, a segment of Russian media showed unverified footage of drones whirring over the dawn sky of the Moscow region and then being shot down in a ball of flame by air defences.
The scare saw Moscow’s airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, scale down flights for four hours but restarted normal operations from 0330 GMT, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
Sobyanin maintained that there were no injuries or damage reported in the aftermath of the attacks.
There were also no casualties or damage reported following the attack on Bryansk in Russia’s southwest, the governor of the region, Alexander Bogomaz, wrote on Telegram.
Russia’s RIA state news agency reported that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to its north.
Governor of the Rostov region in Russia’s southwest, Vasily Golubev, stated that air defence forces destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile over the region, with no injuries reported.
However, the Russian defence ministry was silent on both Tula and Rostov in its statement on the destroyed Ukrainian air weapons.
On its part, Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday it overnight struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system based in the Rostov region.
The drone attack on Moscow was on a par with a May 2023 attack when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital, a strike Putin said was a Ukrainian attempt to scare and provoke Russia, according to Reuters.
In Kursk, Russian war bloggers reported that intense battles were ongoing along the front in the region where Ukraine claims to have carved out at least 450 square km (175 square miles) of Russian territory.
Oil marketers have warned that Nigerians may soon pay as much as ₦1,500 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, as global oil prices surge following the escalating conflict involving Iran in the Middle East.
The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, issued the warning on Tuesday while speaking on a television programme on the impact of the global crisis on fuel prices.
According to him, the current volatility in the international oil market has already pushed petrol prices above ₦1,000 per litre at the depot level, with the ex-depot price from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now standing at about ₦1,175 per litre.
He explained that once logistics, transportation, and other operational costs are added, the final pump price could rise significantly, possibly reaching ₦1,500 per litre in the near future.
Despite concerns about the rising cost of fuel, Gillis-Harry noted that steady availability of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery remains a major relief for Nigeria, stressing that consistent supply is better than a nationwide fuel scarcity.
He added that the refinery’s production capacity is helping to stabilize supply across the country at a time when global markets remain highly unstable.
The latest price adjustment by the Dangote Refinery marks the fourth review within two weeks. Petrol prices increased from ₦995 per litre to ₦1,175 per litre, while diesel rose from ₦1,430 to about ₦1,620 per litre.
The development comes amid a sharp spike in international crude oil prices triggered by fears of supply disruptions due to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Brent crude recently climbed above $102 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to around $101 per barrel.
Industry analysts say the rising oil prices are already having a ripple effect on Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, forcing depot operators and fuel marketers to adjust their prices in response to the global market trend.
Meanwhile, the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has stated that although Nigeria introduced a crude-for-naira arrangement to support local refineries, the facility still purchases crude oil at international market prices, leaving it exposed to global price fluctuations.
The United Nations has raised the alarm over a dramatic surge in attacks on schools worldwide, reporting a 166% increase between 2021 and 2024.
The rise highlights the escalating dangers faced by children in conflict zones.
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, revealed the figures during the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on the rights of the child on Monday.
The session, themed “Mainstreaming the Rights of Children in Armed Conflict: Prevention and Protection,” focused on protecting children amid global conflicts.
Al-Nashif noted that the attacks were particularly concentrated in Sudan, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, where children remain among the most vulnerable victims.
“In 2024, armed conflict directly affected nearly one in six children globally—about 470 million children,” she said. “Years of lost education, trauma, and lasting mental scars shape societies for generations. Long after the fighting subsides, children continue to face deadly risks.”
She highlighted Gaza as having the world’s highest number of child amputees per capita, warning that the impact of war goes far beyond immediate violence.
In Lebanon, government figures show that more than 450,000 people were displaced in less than a week, with at least 394 fatalities, including 83 children, during the 2024 conflict with Israel.
Al-Nashif also stressed the disproportionate risks for displaced children, who are more likely to die from disease linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from direct violence.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a 2025 cholera outbreak killed 340 children, underscoring the long-term consequences of conflict.
She called on states to uphold their international obligations to protect children, insisting that protecting children is “both a legal obligation and a humanitarian moral imperative.”
Also speaking at the council, Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, warned that violence against children continued at extreme levels in 2025.
She urged mainstreaming child protection across peace, security, humanitarian, human rights, and development efforts, emphasizing that children should actively participate in shaping policies designed to safeguard them.
Frazier highlighted her office’s global campaign, “Prove It Matters,” aimed at amplifying children’s voices in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
The UN report underscores the urgent need for coordinated international action to protect children and ensure their safety in conflict zones worldwide.
Portugal officially inaugurated its new president, Antonio Jose Seguro, on Monday, pledging to bring stability to a nation shaken by political uncertainty and natural disasters.
Seguro, the centre-left candidate, won last month’s presidential run-off against far-right rival Andre Ventura, following weeks of catastrophic storms that killed at least seven people and caused approximately €4 billion ($4.6 billion) in damage.
Speaking at his swearing-in ceremony in Lisbon’s parliament, Seguro emphasized cooperation with the minority right-wing government and vowed to end the country’s “electoral frenzy.”
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“I will do everything I can to put an end to this electoral frenzy,” he said, pointing to the inability of previous governments to complete their terms.
Amid global crises, including conflicts in the Middle East and a more isolationist US approach under President Donald Trump, Seguro stressed the importance of multilateralism.
“The force of law has been replaced by the power of the strongest,” he remarked.
Seguro succeeds Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative who leaves office at 77 after serving two five-year terms.
While the Portuguese presidency is largely ceremonial, Seguro’s leadership signals a commitment to political stability and international engagement.
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