“The facades of the [Moscow] City’s two office towers sustained minor damage. There are no casualties or injuries,” Sobyanin wrote in a short post on his Telegram channel.
The Russian Defense Ministry later released a statement, saying that a total of three drones participated in the raid. According to the MOD, one was destroyed mid-air outside Moscow, while two others were disabled by air defenses, veering off course and crashing “on the territory of a non-residential complex in Moscow City.”
News agency TASS cited emergency services as saying that there was “an explosion” between the fifth and the sixth floor of the 50-story building in the ‘IQ Quarter’ complex, which overall has three high-rise buildings. Local media reported that residents heard a loud blast. The IQ Quarter contains the offices of seven ministries and government agencies, including the ministries of trade, economy, and telecommunications.
A second “explosion” occurred at the OKO II building, which contains offices and shops, officials confirmed. Emergency services told TASS that windows were shattered between the first and the fourth floor. They also said that a security guard has been injured.
The damaged buildings have been evacuated, officials added. The evacuations from other Moscow City buildings are underway.
Police and firefighters have arrived at the scene.
The district, officially called the Moscow International Business Center, comprises skyscrapers with both high-end apartments and office spaces. Among them are the Federation and OKO complexes, which include Europe’s second and third tallest buildings respectively.
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on the Russian capital in recent weeks. The UAVs were destroyed or disabled, steering off course, according to the country’s Defense Ministry. Russia views such attacks as acts of terrorism.
