Moscow was under siege early today by suspected Ukrainian suicide drones just hours after Vladimir Putin unleashed a volley of suicide drones in the Ukrainian capital of kyiv.
The suspected Ukrainian drones hit the wealthy Moscow region, which encircles the Russian capital, including the elite district of Rublyovka and damaged a series of buildings.
The explosive drones hit buildings on Leninisky Prospekt and Profsoyuznaya Street near central Moscow, injuring several people and damaging buildings.
Moscow, located more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine, has rarely been the target of drone attacks since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, although such attacks have become more frequent elsewhere in Russia.
The rare drone attack on Moscow and its surroundings came after Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kiev residents rushing to shelters to escape a incessant wave of diurnal and nocturnal bombardments.
Moscow was besieged early today by suspected Ukrainian suicide drone attacks just hours after Vladimir Putin unleashed a volley of suicide drones in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv
The suspected Ukrainian drones hit the wealthy Moscow region, which encircles the Russian capital, including the elite district of Rublyovka and damaged a series of buildings
Investigators collect evidence while working outside a damaged multi-storey building following a reported drone attack in Moscow on Tuesday
At least 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones have been destroyed by Kyiv’s air defense forces in the third Russian attack on the capital in the past 24 hours.
The buzz of drones, packed with explosives, could be heard above the city, followed by loud explosions as they were brought down by air defense systems.
One person died and three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv neighborhood caught fire.
The top two floors were destroyed and there could be people under the rubble, the Kyiv military administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Elsewhere in Kyiv, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in Darnytskyi district and three cars were set on fire in Pechersky district, according to the military administration.
Hours after the attack, Ukraine reportedly launched a rare drone attack on Moscow and its surrounding wealthy neighborhoods.
“This morning at dawn, a drone attack caused minor damage to several buildings. All of the city’s emergency services are on scene… No one has been seriously injured so far,” said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack on Moscow have been evacuated, Sobyanin said.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Greater Moscow Region, later said that several drones were “shot down on the approach to Moscow”.
Images posted on social media showed traces of smoke in the sky. Others showed broken glass.
A building burns after being damaged in a massive Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday
Firefighters work near cars damaged in a massive Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday
Ukraine’s air defense intercepts a mid-air Shahed drone in the third Russian airstrike on the capital in the past 24 hours in Kyiv on Tuesday
Ukraine’s air defense intercepts a mid-air Shahed drone in the third Russian airstrike on the capital in the past 24 hours in Kyiv on Tuesday
Moscow has so far been largely a haven from the onslaught of war, with life going on as normal despite the chaos and misery Vladimir Putin has unleashed in dozens of Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov had warned Russia that it would see a swift response to the unprecedented drone and missile attacks on kyiv in recent days.
“Anyone who tried to bully us into dreaming that it would have an effect, you will regret it very soon,” Budanov said. “Our response will be forthcoming. Soon everyone will see everything.
Yet there was no immediate confirmation that Ukraine was behind the assault on Moscow, which saw drones fly over Rublyovka, home to many oligarchs closest to Putin and not far from his official residence in the Moscow region.
Drones exploded in the suburbs of New Moscow and Novaya Riga near Moscow. A drone hit the upper floors of a residential building at 98 Profsoyuznaya Street, destroying part of the building.
A second hit a 24-story residential tower on Atlasova Street in New Moscow.
An ambulance and fire engines are parked outside a multi-storey building following a reported drone attack in Moscow on Tuesday
People, including Russian law enforcement officers, gather outside a multi-storey building following a reported drone attack in Moscow on Tuesday
Meanwhile, drones have been spotted in the skies above villages near Moscow, including Funkovo, Kezmino and Romashkovo.
Local residents of the Moscow region filmed the drones flying overhead, with one saying, “F*** what a moment I caught.” The b**** is right next to us. F***! Should I leave here? I just went out on the roof to check, and they were getting closer and closer.
It was the second reported attack on Moscow, after authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin earlier this month in what has been described as an attempt on the life of President Vladimir Putin.
Today’s strikes in Moscow and Kyiv came a day after Russian forces fired a barrage of missiles into Kyiv on Monday, sending panicked residents running for cover in an unusual daytime attack against the Ukrainian capital following night strikes.
