Russia claims Ukrainian drones hit two buildings in Moscow, calls it 'terrorist' attack

Russian defence ministry blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Moscow on July 24, after reports revealed that two non-residential buildings near the defence ministry buildings were struck around 4am local time (6.30am IST).

The country's defence ministry said the two drones targeting central Moscow "were suppressed" and forced to crash. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no "serious damage or casualties”. Ukraine is yet to claim responsibility for the attack.

“On July 24 morning, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using two drones against facilities in Moscow city was thwarted. Two Ukrainian UAVs were suppressed by electronic warfare means and crashed,” the ministry said on Telegram.

Russia's state news agency Tass reported that a high-rise business centre on Likhacheva Avenue in the city was struck while drone fragments and glass and concrete debris were found near a building on the nearby Komsomolsky Avenue.

Russia's defence ministry TV channel Zvezda posted a video on Telegram, showing a damaged building.

RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, uploaded a video of the business centre, with some damage visible to the top of the tall building with missing windows.

"I was asleep and was woken up by a blast, everything started shaking," Reuters quoted Polina, a young woman who lives near the high-rise building, as saying.

Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova told RTVI TV said the alleged attack was "an act of international terrorism."

The incident comes a day after Ukraine vowed to “retaliate” against Russian attack on Odesa. At least one person was killed and 22 others were injured in the attack on the Ukrainian city. The attack reportedly damaged several landmarks in the city, including the Transfiguration Cathedral, which is a Unesco World Heritage site. However, Russia denied the allegations and claimed it could be destroyed by a Ukrainian air defence missile. The cathedral was demolished during Stalin’s regime in 1936 and was revamped in the 1990s after the Soviet Union fell.

Earlier in July, Russia claimed it had intercepted five Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow's Vnukovo international airport.