Russian air defense systems destroyed nearly a dozen Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow overnight, the city's mayor said early Wednesday, calling it one of the largest air attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the war.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said ten Ukrainian drones were shot down over the surrounding Moscow region as they

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Chechnya on Tuesday and met its leader Ramzan Kadyrov on his first visit to the North Caucasus region since 2011.

Kadyrov, a key Kremlin ally, says he has deployed thousands of fighters to help the Kremlin with its Ukraine offensive.

Putin in May said that he planned to visit Chechnya on Kadyrov's

Russia's Orthodox Church on Tuesday condemned a vote by Ukrainian lawmakers to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which many believe to be aligned with Moscow.

"This is an unlawful act that is the grossest violation of the basic principles of freedom of conscience and human rights," Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida wrote on