Ukrainian drones have attacked Moscow City, the Russian capital’s financial and business district, where some of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers are located, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in the early hours of Sunday.
“The facades of two of [Moscow] City’s office towers sustained minor damage. There are no casualties or injuries,” Sobyanin wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Russian Defense Ministry later released a statement, saying that a total of three drones were involved in the raid. According to the MOD, one was destroyed mid-air outside Moscow, while two others were disabled by air defenses, veering off course and crashing “on the territory of a non-residential complex in Moscow City.”
News agency TASS cited emergency services as saying there was “an explosion” between the fifth and the sixth floors of a 50-story building in the ‘IQ Quarter’ complex, which has three high-rise buildings. Local media reported that residents heard a loud blast. The IQ Quarter contains the offices of seven ministries and government agencies, including the ministries of trade, economy, and telecommunications.
A second “explosion” occurred at the OKO II building, which contains offices and shops, officials said. Emergency services told TASS news agency that windows were shattered between the first and fourth floors. They also said that a security guard was injured.
The damaged buildings have been evacuated, officials said. Evacuations from other Moscow City buildings are underway.
Unverified video posted to Telegram reportedly shows the moment of the attack.
Police and firefighters are working at the scene.
All flights to and from Vnukovo Airport, to the southwest of Moscow, were briefly suspended. Moscow’s other two main airports – Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo – continued to work as usual.
The district, officially called the Moscow International Business Center, comprises skyscrapers with both high-end apartments and office space. Among them are the Federation and OKO complexes, which include Europe’s second and third tallest buildings respectively.
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on the Russian capital in recent weeks. The UAVs were destroyed or disabled, steering off course, according to the country’s Defense Ministry. Russia views such attacks as acts of terrorism.