Russia says two Ukrainian drones 'suppressed and crashed' in Moscow

Attack comes a day after Kyiv vowed to retaliate for a Russian missile strike on Black Sea port of Odesa

MOSCOW, Russia — Russia said it thwarted a Ukrainian “terrorist act” on Moscow in the early hours of Monday, with the mayor of the Russian capital saying two drones had hit non-residential buildings in the city.

The attack came a day after Kyiv vowed to “retaliate” for a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa.

“A Kyiv regime attempt to carry out a terrorist act using two drones on objects on the territory of the city of Moscow was stopped,” Russia’s defense ministry said. “Two Ukrainian drones were suppressed and crashed. There are no casualties.”

The TASS news agency reported one drone crashed in Komsomolsky Prospekt, near Russia’s defense ministry, while another hit a business center on Likhacheva Street by one of Moscow’s main ring roads.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drone strikes hit “non-residential” buildings around 4:00 am local time (0100 GMT).

He said emergency services were working at the scene and also reported no casualties.

????Multiple drones spotted in downtown Moscow this morning. At least one drone struck a skyscraper across the street from GRU (Russian Military Intelligence) Offensive Cyber Operations headquarters. Other drones shot down and crashed into buildings near the Defence Ministry. pic.twitter.com/8iiPdob06c

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 24, 2023

The RIA Novosti news agency posted a video of the business center, with some damage visible to the top of the tall building.

К многоэтажке на проспекте Лихачева прибыли машины экстренных служб https://t.co/R7HD7RlIgq pic.twitter.com/KsKY7Egp08

— РИА Новости (@rianru) July 24, 2023

The road around it was closed.

Moscow has been hit by several drone attacks this year, with one even hitting the Kremlin in May.

Earlier this month, Russia said it had downed five Ukrainian drones that disrupted the functioning of Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in the early hours of Monday that “drone strikes” hit two “non-residential” buildings in the Russian capital at night, but reported no casualties.

“Today around 4 am (0100 GMT), drone strikes on two non-residential buildings were reported. There is no serious destruction or casualties,” Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding that emergency services were working at the scene.