Mayor: Russian capital under attempted drone attack

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that it had prevented an “attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using two unmanned aerial vehicles” on Monday morning.

Several drone fragments were found on Komsomolsky Prospekt in downtown Moscow, not far from the Defense Ministry’s main headquarters, a source in the emergency services told TASS news agency. The department of transportation said that traffic in the area was partially restricted, advising residents to plan detour routes.

While the drone itself hit a non-residential building, several windows in residential buildings in the area were reportedly blown out by the blast wave. There were no reports of casualties or injuries, but emergency services are working at the scene, with videos showing multiple police cars and ambulances.

The second drone apparently hit a high-rise building in southern Moscow which hosts the office of the French home improvement giant Leroy Merlin. The department of transport confirmed partial road closure and traffic reroutes in the area.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the attempted Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow is “an act of international terrorism”.

Ukraine has previously attempted to strike targets in Moscow Region and the capital itself. Earlier this month, four incoming UAVs were shot down by air defenses over Novaya Moskva, while another crashed after being disabled by electronic warfare.

Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Kiev had launched an attack on Moscow involving eight drones which were either shot down by air defenses, or suppressed by electronic warfare. The raid damaged several residential buildings, but did not cause any serious injuries.