Moscow sees one of Ukraine's largest drone attacks as fighting rages in Kursk and eastern Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow came under one of the largest attacks by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Wednesday, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the country's capital.

The attacks came as Ukrainian forces continue to push into Russia’s western Kursk region. In the past week, they have also struck three bridges, several airfields and an oil depot in a sign they are not letting up on their attacks.

Late Wednesday, the governor of Russia's Bryansk, which borders both Kursk and Ukraine, said Russian forces turned back a Ukrainian attempt to enter that region.

Governor Alexander Bogomaz identified the Ukrainian forces as a “sabotage and reconnaissance group” but did not specify if they were part of Ukraine's military. He said on the Telegram channel that the attempted incursion was in the area of Klimovo, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the section of Kursk held by Ukrainian forces.

“This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. Strong defenses around the Russian capital made it possible to shoot down all the drones before they could hit their intended targets, he said.

Russia said it downed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 over the Moscow region. There was no independent information to verify those figures. Some Russian social media channels shared videos of drones apparently being destroyed by air defense systems, which then set off car alarms.

Ukrainian drone strikes have brought the fight far from the front line into the heart of Russia, targeting Moscow and Russia's second city St. Petersburg, as well as an airport in western Russia, according to Russian officials.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has stepped up aerial assaults on Russian soil, targeting refineries and oil terminals to slow down the Kremlin’s assault.

A fire at an oil depot targeted by Ukraine burned for the fourth day Wednesday in Rostov, a region in southwestern Russia that borders Ukraine. Priests from the Russian Orthodox Church held prayers for injured firefighters as dark plumes of smoke rose from the depot in Proletarsk, according to a photo shared on social media by the Volgodonsk diocese.

Ukraine's daring land incursion into Russia has raised morale in Ukraine with its surprising success and changed the dynamic of the fighting. But it is also risky — Ukrainian forces were already badly stretched, with fighting underway along a stretch of over 970 kilometers (600 miles). The gains in Kursk come as Ukraine continues to lose ground in the eastern industrial region of Donbas.

The Russian state news agency Tass reported that 31 people had died since Ukraine’s incursion started Aug. 6, figures that are impossible to verify. It said 143 people were injured, of whom 79 were hospitalized, including four children.

A Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive device on a car in the Bolshesoldatsky area of Kursk, slightly northeast of the town of Sudzha, the acting governor Alexei Smirnov said. One woman was killed and two others were hospitalized, he said.

Russia’s Central Electoral Commission announced that local elections in six districts and one city of the Kursk region scheduled for Sept. 8 will be postponed and rescheduled when voters' safety can be guaranteed.

Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said Ukraine’s attack on Kursk has ended “any possibility” of peace negotiations.

“Who will negotiate with them after this, after the atrocities, the terror that they are committing against peaceful residents, the civilian population, civilian infrastructure and peaceful facilities,” she told reporters Wednesday in Moscow.

Ukraine said it was respecting the Geneva Conventions, the international humanitarian rules of war. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the Ukrainian military established an office in the Kursk region to provide humanitarian and medical aid to the local population. More than 90% of Russian civilians who stayed in Kursk territory currently controlled by Ukraine are age 60 and older, he said.

“We have no right to leave them there to die," Klymenko said, according to the Ukrinform national news agency.

Ukraine's attacks on three bridges over the Seym River in Kursk could potentially trap Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian advance and Ukraine's border. Already they appear to be slowing Russia’s response to the Kursk incursion.

Ukrainian forces seem to be striking Russian pontoon bridges and pontoon engineering equipment over the Seym in an area west of the Ukrainian advance point, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Tuesday.

Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed Wednesday by The Associated Press show a significant fire on the Seym, near the village of Krasnooktyabrskoe.

The blaze appeared on the northern bank of the river on Tuesday, with another fire seemingly in the village itself. Such fires are common after strikes and often signify where ongoing front-line combat is taking place.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had thwarted attack attempts by Ukrainian assault groups in the Kursk region, according to a report from Tass. Ukraine’s armed forces saw more than 45 soldiers killed or wounded over the past 24 hours, and two were captured while attempting to attack the Kursk region, Tass said. There was no independent confirmation of those numbers and no comment from the Ukrainian side.

In other developments:

— A Russian prosecutor's office has filed a request at the military court in Rostov-on-Don asking for sentences of 16 to 24 years in prison for 23 Ukrainian prisoners of war. They’re accused of terrorism and actions aimed at violent seizure of power. All served in the Ukrainian Azov battalion, including nine women who mostly served as cooks.

— An AP analysis of drone strike data by Ukraine’s armed forces shows that missiles and drones have consistently been launched from Russia's Kursk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the aim of the Kursk operation was to create a “buffer zone” to better protect Ukraine from Russian attacks.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Follow developments at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces prepare a M777 howitzer to fire towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian servicemen of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces drive towards their positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian serviceman Oleh of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces carries 155mm artillery shell during firing towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A Ukrainian serviceman Oleh of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces fires towards Russian positions by a M777 howitzer at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian servicemen of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces fire towards Russian positions by a M777 howitzer at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian servicemen of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces prepare M777 howitzer to fire towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian serviceman Oleh of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces prepares 155mm artillery shells before firing towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian servicemen of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces prepare their M777 howitzer before firing towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian serviceman of 148th separate artillery brigade of the Air Assault Forces prepare his M777 howitzer before firing towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian servicemen ride in a trunk of pickup truck towards their positions at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanised Brigade press service, servicemen of the 24th Mechanised Brigade fire a" Giatsint-S" 152mm self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Chasiv Yar town, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP)

This satellite image released by Planet Labs PBC shows fires near the village of Krasnooktyabrskoe in Russia's Kursk region on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

A Fenix team rescue worker places a helmet on a girl during the evacuation of local population to safe areas, in Selidove, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Tetiana, 11, lays on their possessions as she and her grandmother Tetiana, 61, wait for transfer to the train station during the evacuation of local people from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A Fenix team rescue worker places a helmet on Maryna Scherbyna as she and her children are evacuated as local people are moved from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a pontoon bridge across the Seim River between the town of Glushkovo and the village of Zvannoe in Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 17, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Sofia Zhuravleva, 14, wears a helmet as she is evacuated with her mother Maryna Scherbyna and 9 year old brother Bohdan Scherbyna, as local people are moved from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Maryna Scherbyna, left, and her children, 9 year old Bohdan Scherbyna and 14 year old Angelina Scherbyna ride inside an armoured van belonging to the emergency service Fenix team to be evacuated as local people are moved from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, Russian soldiers fire Giatsint-B gun towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Kherson region in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

Bohdan Scherbyna, 9, with his mother Maryna Scherbyna, 45, and sister Angelina Scherbyna, 14, left, arrive in an armoured van belonging to the emergency service Fenix team during the evacuation of local people from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Local residents clear broken glass from their balconies after a Russian bombardment of a residential neighbourhood in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a destroyed bridge across the Seim River at the town of Glushkovo in Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 17, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a pontoon bridge across the Seim River east of the town of Glushkovo in Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 17, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

A Fenix team rescue worker places a helmet on Bohdan Scherbyna, 9, as he is evacuated with his mother Maryna Scherbyna and 14 year old sister Angelina Scherbyna, as local people as moved from Selidove to safe areas, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — With inflation subsiding, the European Central Bank cut interest rates again on Thursday to prop up tepid growth with lower borrowing costs for companies and home buyers. The U.S. Federal Reserve likely won’t be far behind in joining the rate-cutting process.

The bank’s rate-setting council lowered the deposit rate from 3.75% to 3.5% at a meeting at its skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt.

It was the second rate cut as the bank starts to withdraw some of the swift rate increases it imposed to snuff out a burst of double-digit inflation that broke out after Russia cut off most natural gas supplies over its invasion of Ukraine.

But experts don't expect a rapid series of rate cuts from either the ECB or the Fed central bank to anywhere near the rock-bottom levels from before the 2020 outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. They say the ECB will tiptoe, rather than slash, and might cut rates only one more time this year. Inflation's down with the help of lower oil prices.

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency fell to 2.2% in August, not far from the ECB’s 2% target, down from 10.6% at its peak in October, 2022.

At her post-decision news conference, bank President Christine Lagarde said recent data had confirmed “our confidence that we are heading towards our target in a timely manner.”

But she steered clear of any guidance on further cuts. She said the bank would make rate decisions on a meeting by meeting basis depending on incoming information about the economy and was "not pre-committing to a particular rate path.”

Policy makers must keep an eye on simmering inflation among services companies and rising wages as workers push to make up for purchasing power lost to the outburst of inflation that followed the end of the pandemic.

The ECB cut once in June and then hit pause in July before going on summer break in August. The rate-setting council led by President Christine Lagarde has to juggle concerns about a disappointing outlook for growth against - which argues for cuts - against the need to make sure inflation is going to reach the bank’s 2% target and stay there - which would support keeping rates higher for a bit longer.

Consumer prices spiked after Russian cut off most natural gas shipments to Europe over its February, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, sending utility bills higher. The rebound from the pandemic also led to bottlenecks in supplies of parts and raw materials, further boosting inflation that then spread more broadly to services, a broad category that includes medical care, personal services such as haircuts, restaurants, hotels and entertainment.

The ECB and the Fed responded with swift rate rises, the ECB bringing its benchmark rate to a record high of 4%, since cut in June to 3.75%.

The central bank’s benchmark rate strongly influences what private-sector banks pay to borrow - and through that rates across the rest of the economy. Higher rates cool inflation by making it more expensive to borrow and buy things, holding back price rises. But high rates can slow growth, and that worry is coming into focus.

Higher rates in Europe and the U.S. have meant increased mortgage costs for home buyers, and higher payments for people who run credit card balances or buy cars on credit. But they have been a boon to savers and retirees who like interest income and are getting visible returns on their bank holdings or money market accounts after years of zero returns.

The Fed is also expected to make a first cut in its benchmark rate at its Sept. 17-18 meeting from a 23-year high of 5:25%-5.5%. Consumer prices rose 2.5% in August from a year earlier, down from 2.9% in July. It was the fifth straight annual drop in inflation. Core inflation excluding volatile fuel and food - which can be a better guide - was higher at 3.2%.

“The long-awaited Fed easing cycle is upon us,” said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, but the Fed rate-setters “will be cautious after the inflation challenges of the past few years. The pace of rate cuts will be gentle and monetary easing won’t do much to boost growth next year.”

Europe growth has been sluggish, at 0.3% in the second quarter of this year and a roughly 1.0% annual rate based on performance in the first half. That follows more than a year of near-zero stagnation. Hopes for a more robust pickup have been dampened by recent indicators of business and consumer sentiment, and by a stream of bad news from the eurozone’s biggest economy, Germany.

Germany contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter and its outlook remains gloomy amid a global slowdown in manufacturing. On top of that come long-term factors such as an ageing population, shortage of skilled workers, lagging implementation of digital technology, and excessive bureaucracy that slows down business creation and expansion. Major employer Volkswagen has dropped its no-layoffs pledge that was to run through 2029 as it seeks to cut costs, and has warned it may need to close one or more factories in Germany amid weaker demand for its new electric vehicles in Europe and in China.

FILE - A light installation is projected onto the building of the European Central Bank during a rehearsal in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (Photo/Michael Probst, File)