Russia accuses Ukraine of new drone attack on Moscow, no casualties reported
MOSCOW – Russia’s Defence Ministry announced on Sunday that it had intercepted and brought down three Ukrainian drones in a second attempted attack on Moscow within a week. The attack resulted in minor damages to two buildings, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
The high-rise buildings in the Moskva-Citi business district, which houses government offices and residential apartments, suffered only minor damage. There were no casualties reported in the incident.
The incident raises concerns for Russian authorities who have been assuring the public of their control over the ongoing “special military operation” against Ukraine. This follows previous drone attacks in May, where two drones reached the Kremlin, and a thwarted attack last Monday near the headquarters of the defence ministry.
Ukraine typically does not claim responsibility for specific incidents on Russian territory. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggested that the war was “gradually returning to Russia’s territory – to its symbolic centres.”
Eyewitnesses in Moscow described the moments of the strike, with one woman stating that there was an explosion followed by smoke and fire. Glass panels in one building were blown out, and debris was scattered on the pavement, leading to the cordoning off of the area by police and emergency services.
Flights to and from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport were briefly suspended due to the incident, as reported by the TASS news agency.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that two drones crashed in the Moskva-Citi district, while another was shot down in the air over the Odintsovo area in the Moscow region. The ministry referred to the attempted attack as a “terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.”
In a separate incident, the ministry claimed to have successfully thwarted an attack on Crimea by 25 Ukrainian drones. The peninsula, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, did not suffer any damages or casualties.
The ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate, with drone attacks posing a significant challenge for both countries.