Russian authorities claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack, striking a building in Moscow, which resulted in an explosion heard all over the city’s commercial center after it was shot down by Russian air defence.
The drone was shot down by a Russian air defence team as its debris fell on the city’s Expo Centre, said Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
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This attack on the Russian capital is the most recent in a string of similar ones.
Unverified social media footage showed Moscow covered in a thick, grey plume of smoke after the drone attack.
Ukraine’s government did not respond right away to the latest drone attack, but it has never openly acknowledged carrying out attacks against Moscow-based targets.
The attack happened about 4:00 local time (01:00 GMT), according to a Telegram post by Russia’s military.
After activating the city’s air defence systems, the drone had “changed its flight path” falling on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment area of Moscow, the military’s Telegram post said, adding that there were no reports of any casualties.
The Moscow Expo Centre is a sizable display facility utilised for conferences and conventions.
“A powerful explosion” was generated by the strike, a witness who was nearby told Reuters.
However, according to the Russian defence ministry, there was no fire started by the debris. The drone did “no significant damage” to the structure, added Sobyanin.
As per Russian state-owned media Tass, one of the center’s outer walls has partially fallen and about 30 square meters (323 square feet) area is believed to be affected.
Moscow was unaffected by the conflict in Ukraine until earlier this year, but during the recent months of May and July, it has been targeted by drone strikes destroying several buildings and urban centers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that the war was “returning to the territory of Russia” and that this was an “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process”, reported BBC.
“Hours before the latest strike in Moscow, a Ukrainian sea drone was destroyed during an attempted attack on Russia’s naval fleet in the Black Sea”, Russia’s defence ministry confirmed.
