Midnight attack: Ukrainian drones descend on Moscow in shock strike

Two non-residential buildings in Moscow, Russia were reportedly hit by drone strikes early Monday (July 24), according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Russian officials said the drones were of Ukrainian origin and fell near the country’s defence ministry and a local business centre. The Russian defence ministry labelled the incident as a terrorist act by Kyiv. No casualties were reported, and the buildings suffered minor damages.

Russian news agency TASS pinpointed the locations of the drone crash sites, one in Komsomolsky Prospekt, near the Russian defence ministry, and the other at a business centre on Likhacheva Street, in proximity to a main ring road. The Russian defence ministry released a statement saying that they had managed to stop the drones and termed it as an act of terror by the Ukrainian regime.

Ukrainian drones hit Moscow: Russian Defence Ministry labels it as terrorism. Photo courtesy of Bernd Thomas from Pixabay.

The Russian media outlet RIA Novosti shared a video that showcased the top of the business centre with evident damage. As a safety measure, local authorities closed off the surrounding roads.

Moscow has previously accused Ukraine of drone attacks. Back in May, the Kremlin claimed that Ukrainian drones attempted an attack, which they said was intended to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a similar incident earlier this month, Russian authorities said they had shot down five Ukrainian drones that had disrupted operations at Vnukovo international airport.