Ukrainian drone hits Moscow’s financial hub – mayor

Ukrainian drones have once again targeted the Russian capital’s financial and business district, following a similar attack over the weekend, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed early on Tuesday.

One drone has managed to penetrate air defenses and hit one of the high-rises in Moscow City, where some of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers are located, Sobyanin said in a Telegram post around 3:40am.

“Several drones were shot down by air defense systems while trying to fly to Moscow. One hit the same tower in the [Moscow] City as the last time,” the official wrote. He added that the building’s facade on the 21th floor was “damaged.”

According to photos and videos from the scene, the drone hit the 50-story building of the ‘IQ Quarter’ complex, which contains the offices of several Russian government agencies, including the ministries of trade, economy, and telecommunications.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries, but “emergency services are working at the scene,” according to the mayor.

All flights to and from Vnukovo Airport, to the southwest of Moscow, were briefly suspended as a precaution.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that a total of three drones were involved in the raid. Two of them were allegedly destroyed mid-air outside Moscow, while the third one was suppressed by radio electronic warfare, veering off course and crashing into a “non-residential complex in Moscow City.”

On Sunday, Kiev made another attempt to attack Moscow City, the Russian capital’s financial and business district. According to the MOD, all incoming aircraft were shot down or suppressed by air defenses, but their debris damaged the glass facades of two skyscrapers. One person was injured.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Ukraine is launching “terrorist strikes” on Moscow and other civilian targets in Russia out of frustration over its failures on the battlefield. The attempted drone attacks on Moscow are “some sort of acts of desperation against the background of those failures. And, of course, Kiev resorts to such terrorist tactics,” Peskov said.

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