Jul 24, 2023 at 4:01 am BST
Updated 24 minutes ago
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A drone reportedly crashed near the Ministry of Defense
Russia has accused Ukraine of being behind a drone strike that damaged at least two buildings in the capital Moscow early Monday morning.
The Russian Defense Ministry said two drones were “suppressed and crashed,” adding that there were no casualties.
The Russian state news agency Tass reported that a drone crashed near the Ministry of Defense.
Ukrainian officials have yet to comment but rarely claim responsibility for attacks inside Russia.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the drone strikes struck “non-residential buildings” around 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT). He added that no major damage was done to the buildings.
However, state news outlets reported that some drone fragments were found just 2 km (1.2 miles) from the ministry’s buildings.
“An attempt by the Kiev regime to use two drones to carry out a terrorist attack on objects on the territory of the city of Moscow was stopped,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement published on Telegram.
State news agency Tass reported that drone debris was also found along the city’s Komsomolsky Avenue. The Moscow Ministry of Transport wrote on Telegram that traffic along the route was blocked and photos showed rescue workers working on site.
Traffic was also obstructed on Likhachev Avenue, where a high-rise office building was damaged. Footage released by Zvezda military television showed missing windows at the top of the building.
Moscow has accused Ukraine of numerous drone strikes on its territory in recent months.
And in May, Kiev denied conducting a drone attack on the Kremlin, which Russia said amounted to an assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin.
Unesco, the United Nations cultural agency, said it was “deeply dismayed and strongly condemned the attack on the historic center of Odessa”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced retaliation for the attack.
“You will definitely feel it,” he said during his evening address from Kiev. “The targets of all these rockets are not just cities, villages or people. Their goal is humanity and the foundations of our entire European culture.”