Russia blames Ukraine for drone attack on Moscow skyscraper

By Ali Cura and Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that Ukraine carried out an attack on the capital Moscow using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The ministry issued a statement saying that Moscow and its surrounding region were attacked by drones overnight.

It said a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime on the city of Moscow and the Moscow City complex with drones was prevented.

The statement noted that two Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems over Odintsovo and Naro-Fominsk districts of the Moscow region and one was suppressed by electronic warfare. The drone, which lost its control, fell in the Moscow City complex.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin issued a statement on his social media account noting that several drones were hit by air defense systems while flying to Moscow.

The facade of the 21st floor of a skyscraper was damaged and 150 square meters (1,614 square feet) of glass was broken.

Russia’s emergency services are working at the scene, where no one was harmed, Sobyanin noted.

Images circulating on social media showed there was an explosion due to a drone crashing in the Moscow City region, where skyscrapers are located.

There are high-rise buildings in the Moscow International Business Center, which is the headquarters of national and international companies and is called "Moscow City."

On July 24 and 28, Ukraine carried out attacks on Moscow with UAVs, but there were no casualties or injuries.

On July 30, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that Ukraine had attempted to attack Moscow and the Moscow Region with drones. One of the blocked UAVs crashed into a skyscraper in the Moscow City region, causing damage to the building.