Russia: Several buildings damaged in Moscow after drone attack, says Mayor
- In Reports
- 08:54 PM, May 30, 2023
- Myind Staff
The mayor of Moscow said that a drone attack on Tuesday caused minor damage to the Russian capital with no reported casualties, news agency AFP reported.
“This morning, at dawn, a drone attack caused minor damage to several buildings. All the city’s emergency services are on the scene. No one has been seriously injured so far," Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin was quoted as saying by AFP.
Officials speaking to Russian news agency RIA said one drone struck the upper floors of a residential building in southwest Moscow and another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) struck a 24-storey apartment block in the same area. Later, another building was said to have been struck in the attack.
According to a statement by Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov on his Telegram channel, air defenses successfully intercepted and shot down multiple drones approaching the city.
“This morning, the Kyiv regime launched a terrorist drone attack on the city of Moscow. Eight aircraft-type drones were employed in the attack. All enemy drones were downed,” the Russian defence ministry said.
“Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control, and deviated from the intended targets. Five more UAVs were shot down by the Pantsir-S SAM system in the Moscow region,” the ministry further added.
At least 25 UAVs were involved in the morning attack but Moscow’s air defence successfully intercepted and downed most of them. Some of these UAVs got entangled in trees and wires due to their extremely low altitude, news platform Baza citing the Russian defence ministry said.
This is the second drone attack on Moscow after a drone attack was conducted earlier on the Kremlin on May 3.
Russia accuses Ukraine of carrying out the drone attack but it denies responsibility for the May 3 attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at that time said Ukraine did not attack the Kremlin or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, a report by the New York Times last week said that American intelligence agencies suspect Ukrainian involvement behind the attack on the Kremlin on May 3.
The officials told the news outlet that it remains unclear whether Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top officials were aware of the operation. The report said that some officials believe that Zelensky was not aware.
The report said a loose grouping of Ukrainian units could be working together to carry out small-scale operations inside and outside Russia, citing American intelligence agency officials.
It also said that these units could have operated independently or with partners under their command, without much supervision from Zelensky and other highly-placed Ukrainian officials.
American officials believe that the Ukrainians were responsible for the assassination of Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, the killing of a pro-Russian blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, and the number of attacks carried out last week on towns near Russia-Ukraine border like Belgorod.
Image Source: WIFR
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