Moscow was besieged early today by a suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack, just hours after Vladimir Putin unleashed a volley of suicide UAVs on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The suspected Ukrainian drones hit the affluent Moscow region, which surrounds the Russian capital, including the elite district of Rublyovka and damaged a series of buildings.
The explosive drones struck apartment buildings on Leninisky Prospekt and Profsoyuznaya Street near the center of Moscow, reportedly injuring several people and damaging the buildings.
Moscow, which is more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine, has rarely been the target of drone strikes since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, although such attacks are more common elsewhere in Russia.
The rare drone strike on Moscow and surrounding areas came after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine’s capital before dawn on Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kiev residents into shelters to escape a brutal wave of daylight and nighttime bombing.
Moscow came under siege early today from suspected attacks from Ukrainian kamikaze drones, just hours after Vladimir Putin unleashed a volley of suicide UAVs into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The suspected Ukrainian drones hit the wealthy Moscow region (pictured), which surrounds the Russian capital, including the elite district of Rublyovka, and damaged a series of buildings
The suspected Ukrainian drones hit the wealthy Moscow region, which surrounds the Russian capital, including the elite district of Rublyovka and damaged a series of buildings
At least 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones were destroyed by Kyiv’s air defense forces during Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours.
The hum of the drones, which are loaded with explosives, could be heard above the city, followed by loud explosions as they were brought down by air defense systems.
One person died and three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire.
The top two floors have been destroyed and people may be trapped under the rubble, Kyiv’s military government said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Elsewhere in Kiev, falling debris set fire to a residential house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set on fire in the Pechersky district, the military administration said.
Hours after the attack, Ukraine reportedly launched a rare drone strike against Moscow and surrounding wealthy areas.
“At dawn this morning, a drone strike caused minor damage to several buildings. All the city’s emergency services are on the scene… So far no one has been seriously injured,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack on Moscow were evacuated, Sobyanin said.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, later said several drones were “shot down on the approach to Moscow.”
Footage posted on social media showed trails of smoke in the air. Others showed a broken window.
An apartment building is on fire after suffering damage in a massive Russian drone strike in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday
Firefighters work near cars damaged in a massive Russian drone strike in Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday
Ukrainian air defenses intercept a Shahed drone in flight during the third Russian airstrike on the capital in the past 24 hours in Kiev on Tuesday
Ukrainian air defenses intercept a Shahed drone in flight during the third Russian airstrike on the capital in the past 24 hours in Kiev on Tuesday
Until now, Moscow has been largely a safe haven from wartime attacks, as life goes on as usual despite the chaos and misery that Vladimir Putin has unleashed in dozens of Ukrainian cities.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency Kyrylo Budanov had warned Russia that it would respond quickly to the unprecedented drone and missile attacks on Kiev in recent days.
“All those who tried to intimidate us, dreaming that this would have some effect, you will regret it very soon,” Budanov said. Our answer is not long in coming. Soon everyone will see everything.’
Still, there was no immediate confirmation that Ukraine was behind the attack on Moscow, which saw drones flying over Rublyovka, home to many of Putin’s closest oligarchs and not far from his official residence in the Moscow region.
Drones exploded in the suburbs of New Moscow and Novaya Riga near Moscow. A drone hit the upper floors of a residential building at 98 Profsoyuznaya Street, destroying part of the apartment building.
A second hit a 24-story residential tower on Atlasova Street in New Moscow.
A view shows a damaged multi-storey apartment building after a reported drone strike in Moscow on Tuesday
Investigators gather evidence as they work outside a damaged multi-story apartment building after a reported drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday
An ambulance and firefighting vehicles are parked outside a multi-storey apartment building after a reported drone attack in Moscow on Tuesday
People, including Russian law enforcement officers, gather in front of a multi-story apartment building after a reported drone attack in Moscow on Tuesday
Meanwhile, drones were seen flying over villages near Moscow, including Funkovo, Kezmino and Romashkovo.
Local residents in the Moscow region filmed the drones flying overhead, with one of them saying, “F*** what a moment I captured. The b**** is near our house. F***! Should I leave here? I just went up on the roof to look, and they got closer and closer.’
It was the second reported attack on Moscow after authorities said two drones attacked the Kremlin earlier this month in what was labeled an attempt on the life of President Vladimir Putin.
Today’s attacks in Moscow and Kiev came a day after Russian forces fired a barrage of missiles into Kiev on Monday, sending panicked residents seeking shelter in an unusual daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital following overnight strikes.