Drone hits upscale Moscow highrise in rare attack
Ukraine also hit several a cruise missile carrier and three shadow fleet tankers of Russia.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of BSS/AFP
Daily TribuneUkraine also hit several a cruise missile carrier and three shadow fleet tankers of Russia.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of BSS/AFP
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Ukrainian drone hit a residential high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighborhood overnight into Monday, the Russian capital’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The rare attack on heavily protected Moscow comes just days before Russia’s grand annual 9 May parade, which this year will be held without military hardware amid a heightened threat from Ukrainian strikes.
“A drone crashed into a building in the area of the Mosfilmovskaya (street). There are no casualties,” Sobyanin said, referring to an expensive district next to the Moscow film studio and some 10 kilometers from the Kremlin.
He added that the two drones that targeted Moscow have been repelled by the air defense forces.
Russian state broadcaster Rossiya-1 published a video showing collapsed walls and broken doors inside a damaged apartment.
Ukraine has fired drones into Russia throughout Moscow’s more than four-year offensive, which has killed thousands and displaced millions.
Kyiv has in the past weeks stepped up its strikes targeting Russian oil infrastructure hubs: refineries, ports and depots.
But Ukrainian drones rarely reach Moscow, which is heavily guarded by numerous air defense systems.
Talks to end the war between the neighbors have gone nowhere.
Moscow is gearing up to hold its 9 May parade, which marks the victory over Nazi Germany. It has become a central event under President Vladimir Putin’s long rule.
Ships, tankers hit
Ukraine said Sunday it had hit several Russian ships — a cruise missile carrier and three shadow fleet tankers — as both sides fired hundreds of drones in a spree that killed at least eight people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday vowed to step up retaliatory strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow did not halt its invasion.
“Russia can end its war at any moment. Prolonging the war will only expand the scale of our defensive operations,” he said on social media.