Russian authorities accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow early Monday that saw one of the aircraft fall near the Defense Ministry’s main headquarters.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said there was “no major damage” in the city following an attempted Ukrainian drone strike around 4am Monday morning.
The drones crashed into non-residential buildings after the military suppressed them using electronic warfare systems.
The Russian 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.
⚡️Air defence active over Moscow, Russia pic.twitter.com/Z9ChTjwGcB
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 24, 2023
Several drone fragments were found on Komsomolsky Prospekt in the center of 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 French home improvement chain Leroy Merlin. The department of transport confirmed partial road closures and traffic reroutes in the area.
Ukraine has recently 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.
Attack on Crimea
Russian authorities said that another Ukrainian drone attack early Monday struck an ammunition depot in northern Crimea and forced a halt in traffic on a major highway and a railway crossing the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Railway traffic was restored several hours later.
📽️Ukrainian Army hit a Russian ammo depot in occupied Crimea, Dzhankoi Raion this morning. Evacuation of civilian population within 5km radius has reportedly started.#UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/gtNeONtXkK
— MilitaryLand.net (@Militarylandnet) July 24, 2023
The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that authorities also ordered the evacuation of several villages within a 5-kilometer (3-mile) radius of the depot that was hit.
Aksyonov said the military shot down or jammed 11 attacking drones, while the Defense Ministry claimed later that 11 of the 17 attacking drones were jammed and crashed into the Black Sea and another three were shot down.
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.
Source: Agencies
