Russia says it intercepted Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow
Mayor of the Russian capital said two drones had hit non-residential buildings in the city.
Two Ukraine-launched drones attacked Moscow early on Monday, but were intercepted and destroyed, Russia’s defence ministry said.
The attack came a day after Kyiv vowed to “retaliate” for a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Russian state news agencies reported that drone fragments were found 2km (1.2 miles) away from the ministry’s buildings.
Calling it a “terrorist attack”, the defence ministry said on its Telegram messaging app that there were no casualties in the attack.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram messaging app that two non-residential buildings were struck during the attack, which happened around 4am. It was unclear whether the drones hit the buildings when they were downed, or whether they deliberately targeted the buildings.
Neither the defence ministry nor the mayor said where the drones were intercepted.
Russia’s state news agencies reported, citing emergency services, said that drone fragments were found near a building on the Komsomolsky Avenue, which is not far from the defence ministry’s buildings.
Traffic was closed on the Komsomolsky Avenue as well as was on Likhachev Avenue in Moscow’s south, where a high-rise office building was damaged, Russian news agencies reported.
Russia’s defence ministry television channel Zvezda published a short video on its Telegram channel showing a high-rise building with missing windows on top floors and damaged structure.
Other Russian Telegram channels, with links to Russia’s security forces, published videos of glass and concrete debris on what they said was the Komsomolsky Avenue.
Moscow has been hit by several drone attacks this year, with one even hitting the Kremlin in May.
Earlier this month, Russia said it had downed five Ukrainian drones that disrupted the functioning of Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia’s military infrastructure helps Kyiv’s counteroffensive.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse