Governor: Drone crash near Moscow was a failed attack

The crash of a drone in the Moscow region was likely an attempt to target civilian infrastructure, according to the regional governor. After the defense ministry reported shooting down two Ukrainian drones in southern Russia, Andrei Vorobyov spoke. 

Ukraine does not claim responsibility for attacks within Russian territory. The drone crashed within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Moscow, close to the village of Gubastovo, which is operated by the Russian energy giant Gazprom. Gazprom informed the Russian local sources that its operations in the Kolomna district were not interrupted. 

Mr. Vorobyov mentioned that the drone's target in Kolomna was likely a civilian infrastructure facility that was not damaged. According to him there were no casualties or damage that was done on the ground. The Russian security service (FSB) and other relevant authorities were conducting an investigation. 

Images shared by Russian media and government officials depict a damaged drone in a snowy field in front of a birch tree forest. The region surrounding the Gazprom facility is densely wooded. The drone resembles the UJ-22 Airborne, a product of Ukrainian manufacturer Ukjet, in appearance. 

According to Ukrjet, the vehicle's range is 800 kilometers, allowing it to reach the Kolomna region from Ukraine. A reverse image reveals no previous matches, indicating that the image is recent. Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, tweeted a picture of the drone. According to the Russian defense ministry, two Ukrainian drones were shot down in southern Russia.

The ministry charged that Kiev attempted to use drones to attack civilian infrastructure in the Krasnodar region and the Adygea Republic, adding that the drones were "neutralized by electronic warfare units." Moscow has accused Ukraine of attacking Russian military infrastructure during the conflict, but Kiev has not confirmed this.

In December, a Ukrainian drone attack on a bomber air base in southern Russia resulted in the deaths of three people, according to Moscow. The Ukrainian military did not officially admit to the attack, but air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat stated that the explosions were caused by Russia's actions on Ukrainian territory.

Prior to this, Russia had accused Ukraine of a similar attack on the same airfield, which is home to bombers that have launched missile attacks against Ukraine.

In August, a series of explosions rocked a military base in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. This was viewed as a significant expansion of the conflict by Ukraine into Crimea. Eventually, Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack. President Vladimir Putin instructed the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday to step up its efforts against what he described as a rise in espionage and sabotage by Ukraine and the West.

He ordered the FSB to bolster security on Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine. He stated that units stationed at the border must stop sabotage groups and stop the flow of illegal weapons and ammunition.

The Russian defense ministry announced on Tuesday that its fighter jets participated in a training exercise in the country's western airspace, hours after St. Petersburg's airspace was closed due to reports of an unidentified flying object.