Russia said yesterday Ukraine had fired a missile towards Moscow and attacked Crimea with 42 drones, in what would be one of the biggest known coordinated Ukrainian air attacks to date on Russian-held territory.

The Russian defence ministry said a modified S-200 missile had been shot down over the Kaluga region, which borders the Moscow region. The city of Kaluga is less than 200 km (124 miles) from Moscow.

"The missile was detected and destroyed by air defences over the territory of the Kaluga region," the defence ministry said. There were no casualties, said Kaluga governor Vladislav Shapsha.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the reports, and almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

The Russian defence ministry also said Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014, was attacked. Nine drones were destroyed by air defence forces while 33 were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed over Crimea without reaching their targets, it said.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, said on the Telegram messaging app that a number of drones had been destroyed on Sevastopol's outskirts.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attacks.