Moscow skyscraper burns as ‘Ukrainian drones’ crash into business center near Russian Defense Ministry sites as giant explosions rock Crimea

A skyscraper went up in flames in Moscow this morning after drones were shot down over the Russian capital in the latest alleged Ukrainian attack, while gigantic explosions rocked occupied Crimea.

The drones, believed to have been targeting Russian Defense Ministry facilities, were shot down by electronic warfare jamming, according to Russian sources.

One caused extensive damage to a tower of a business center on Likhacheva Prospekt, near one of Moscow’s main ring roads.

A drone apparently went down near a military university that acts as the headquarters of the GRU military intelligence “cyber offensive,” according to Russian expert Hristo Grozev. There was no immediate confirmation of the attack or claim of responsibility.

It came as an ammunition depot came under attack during a Ukrainian drone strike at Dzhankoi in Crimea early Monday, with Russian air defense forces shooting down or electronically jamming 11 drones over the area, a Russia-based official said.

Members of the Russian security services investigate the site of a damaged building after a drone strike in Moscow on July 24.

Pictured: A video purporting to show a drone flying over Moscow this morning

Meanwhile, an overnight Russian drone strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odessa region destroyed a grain hangar, Kiev’s military said on Monday.

This followed a Russian missile attack that heavily damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral in Odessa on Sunday, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vow retaliation.

In Moscow, fragments of a drone were found a mile from the Defense Ministry, a report said on Monday. Windows of shops and apartment buildings were also smashed on Komsomolsky Prospekt.

‘In 17, Komsomolsky Prospekt, the remains of a drone were discovered. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties,” an emergency official told TASS.

“On the morning of July 24, an attempt by the Kiev regime to launch a terrorist attack using two UAVs against facilities on the territory of the city of Moscow was thwarted,” the ministry said on Telegram.

‘Two Ukrainian UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and crashed,” adds the ministry

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said: “Drone strikes on two non-residential buildings were recorded around 4:00 am today, without causing major damage or casualties. All emergency services are working on the spot.

A drone was seen hovering over Moscow in the early morning, while footage from the scene after the stroke showed the ground at the foot of the high-rise building covered in rubble, with security services going through the rubble.

A video from Moscow recorded a voice saying: ‘Something exploded next to our place.

Investigators examine a damaged building after a drone strike in Moscow on July 24.

A police officer carries debris to members of the security services investigating a bridge near the site of a damaged building following a drone strike in Moscow, on July 24.

‘Our windows almost flew out. We better check the news. It was a very loud explosion.

The Russians blamed Ukraine for two drone strikes that hit the Kremlin on May 3. This was portrayed as an attempt to ‘assassinate Putin’.

In late May, a drone strike closed in on Putin’s palatial official residence, Novo-Ogaryovo, near Moscow.

There was no immediate comment from kyiv on today’s strikes in Moscow.

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 the destruction of Russia’s military infrastructure helps Kiev’s counteroffensive.

Commenting on the strikes in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of the peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said a residential building was damaged in the region.

He said there were no signs of casualties, but people within a 3-mile radius of the incident were being evacuated.

It was not immediately clear if the ammunition depot was hit directly by a drone or was damaged by falling debris from the drone.

Russia has a military airbase near Dzhankoi. Ukrainian officials have long said that the town and surrounding areas have become Moscow’s largest military base in Crimea.

Aksyonov also said on the Telegram messaging app that “for security reasons” rail and road traffic in the area has been suspended.

A view shows a damaged building after a drone strike in Moscow on July 24.

Police officers work at the site of a drone strike in central Moscow on July 24.

The Reuters news agency said it could not independently verify the reports of the attacks. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged attack.

Ukraine has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia’s military infrastructure helps kyiv’s counteroffensive.

It was the second such attack in three days in Crimea. On Saturday, Aksyonov said a drone caused an explosion at an ammunition depot in central Crimea, prompting authorities to evacuate people nearby and briefly halt traffic on the bridge linking the peninsula to Russia.

Ukraine claimed that incident, saying its army had destroyed a Russian army oil depot and warehouses.

Meanwhile, kyiv’s military said on Monday that an overnight drone strike on port infrastructure in the Odessa region had destroyed a grain hangar.

“Tonight, an almost four-hour strike by ‘Shahed-136′ drones was targeted at the Danube port infrastructure’ in the Odessa region, the South Ukrainian military command said on Telegram.

‘As a result of the strikes, a grain hangar was destroyed, tanks for storing other types of cargo were damaged.’

Three of the Iranian-made Shahed attack drones used in the attack were destroyed by air defenses, the army said.

“According to initial reports, about four port workers were injured, but the information is still being clarified,” he said.

Attacks on Ukraine’s Odessa region have increased since Russia last week withdrew from a key deal that had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain into the Black Sea.

Russia fired 19 missiles at the Ukrainian city of Odessa over the weekend, devastating the central grain port and historic buildings.

Then the Russian authorities announced that they would consider any ships heading for Ukrainian grain ports on the Black Sea as military targets.

Russia fired 19 missiles at the city of Odessa over the weekend, flattening the city’s historic center and grain port, killing one and wounding many more.

Ukraine said Sunday the death toll from the overnight attacks killed one person and injured 22, including four children.

kyiv accused Russia of targeting grain supplies and vital infrastructure for any resumption of grain exports from Ukraine.