2023-08-02 11:56:27
Under the bright sun, amid the glass skyscrapers of Moscow’s business district, on Tuesday August 1, office workers take photos of the object of the buzz since dawn on Russian social networks: the second night attack in two days on one of the main towers of “Moskva-City”.
“On the 10th floor, it was Sunday’s drone; on the 21st floor, the one this morning”, explains Elena, who came during her coffee break to immortalize the facade with its broken windows and bare metal structures. Around her, a crowd of thirty-somethings in short dresses and casual suits chain selfies and videos, immediately sent to the chats. “Drones fall on us, but we continue to live and work as if nothing had happened”, says Elena. Between amazement and indifference.
“Overnight, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kiev regime using deadly drones against targets in Moscow and the Moscow region was foiled”, said the Russian Ministry of Defense. The formula now regularly seizes Muscovites upon waking. With the same images: broken windows and blocked access. Minor material damage, without victims or serious injuries, far from the heavy toll of the Russian attacks in Ukraine.
More and more frequent strikes
Drone incursions into the Moscow region, located nearly 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, were fairly rare until spring. On May 3, two drones exploded over the Kremlin. On May 30, residential buildings and posh dachas were the target of a large coordinated attack carried out using eight drones according to the authorities, around thirty according to unofficial sources. Penultimate strike: Monday, July 24, near the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in the city center.
But with the double incursion into Moskva-City, it is the first time that the same building has been targeted twice. “It’s starting to get worrying”, blows one of the workers at the sidewalk renovation site in front of the targeted tower. The skyscraper, notably the seat of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, is prohibited from access. Police and firefighters end up activating. On the 10th floor, the drone that struck on Sunday partially destroyed the facade. The damage is more impressive on the 21st floor, the target of Tuesday morning’s attack, with some 150 m2 of glazing destroyed.
All around, however, life quickly resumed. On the huge luminous panel of a neighboring facade, advertisements parade. The adjacent shopping center is busy. Outside, away from the hustle and bustle, sat on designer wooden benches, white-collar workers bend over their laptops. “We work as usual! »confirms Anna, a waitress at the café where, just opposite the tower targeted by the drones, the service continues as normal, between borsch and cappuccino.
“War returns to Russian territory”
“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, to its symbolic centers and military bases”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Sunday. That day, like Tuesday morning, drones were intercepted near Vnukovo, one of Moscow’s airports. Located near military bases, it is now used to temporarily interrupting its air traffic in the early hours of the morning, when drones fly.
“All this does not change public opinion towards the war in Ukraine, tempers political scientist Andrei Kolesnikov in Moscow. On the contrary, some Russians reluctant to support the offensive will say to themselves that the Kremlin is right. Many others say to themselves: this does not concern me. » Thus, in Moskva-City, after the photo and quick messages on the chats, everyone goes back to work towards the surrounding towers. Elena, however, does not hide her concern: “We don’t know where all of this will take us. »
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