New Delhi, July 4 -- The day after Russia launched what Kyiv called the war's most devastating aerial attack on its capital, Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were already over Russian territory. One hundred and eighty-eight of them, according to Moscow's own Defense Ministry, in a 12-hour window on Friday.

00 and 20:00 Moscow time on Friday. It did not name which Russian regions came under attack, how many systems were involved in the intercepts, or whether any of the 188 drones reached their designated targets before being brought down.

That silence is notable. Russian military communiques on drone intercepts routinely name affected regions (Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Moscow, Voronezh) when the ministry wants to demonstrate the geographic br...