Ukrainian drone hits upmarket Moscow high-rise ahead of Victory Day celebrations
A Ukrainian drone crashed into a luxury residential building in Moscow early on Monday, causing no casualties but visible damage to the building’s facade.
It was the third night in a row that the Russian capital was attacked by drones, just days before Russia held a scaled-back parade on May 9 to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
An unverified video circulating on social media showed firefighters entering a heavily damaged apartment covered in dust and debris with blown out windows, while another video showed drone debris scattered on the street below.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two more drones were seized. Vnukovo and Domodedovo international airports suspended their operations overnight.
The Russian defense ministry said a total of 117 people were captured in various regions of Russia between Sunday and Monday. Just sixty of them targeted the St Petersburg region in what regional governor Aleksandr Drodzhenko said was a “massive” attack.
The residential building that was hit is located in an upscale neighborhood in southwestern Moscow, less than 10 km (six miles) from the Kremlin and Red Square, where Saturday’s parade will be held.
Ukraine’s drones have attacked Moscow several times since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Drone warnings regularly close airports on the outskirts of the capital and disrupt air traffic, but much of the capital is protected by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system and successful attacks this close to the center are relatively rare.
Last week, the Kremlin revealed its uneasiness before the May 9 celebrations, due to the “terrorist threat” coming from Ukraine. It would reduce the size of the massive annual military parade in Red Square. For the first time since 2008, there will be no armored vehicles or missile systems.
Multiple local phone operators have announced that mobile internet in Moscow will be restricted for most of next week for “security reasons”, Russian media reported on Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin was “afraid of UAVs flying over Red Square. This shows… We need to keep up the pressure.”
Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has developed an arsenal of long-range drones that can often hit targets hundreds of kilometers from its borders.
Such drones now routinely hit energy infrastructure and refineries across Russia in an attempt to reduce Russia’s oil production and revenue.
On Sunday, Zelensky said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise missile carrier warship and a patrol boat were hit in separate attacks on two Russian ports.
Zelensky said the tankers were part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade Western sanctions over a large-scale invasion Moscow launches in 2022.
Russia continues to launch deadly air strikes on Ukrainian cities every day.
On Monday, Ukrainian officials said four people were killed and 18 others were injured in a missile attack near Kharkiv, near the Russian border.
