Moscow: Rare drone attacks target city as airport shut-down, buildings damaged

Moscow, July 30: In a rare incident, Moscow and its surroundings experienced several drone attacks on Sunday, marking a shift in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia's defense ministry reported that three Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Moscow, with one shot down on the city's outskirts, while the other two were disabled by electronic warfare and crashed into an office complex. Fortunately, no casualties were reported from the attack.

The Russian defense ministry labeled the incident as an "attempted terrorist attack" and attributed it to Kyiv, claiming that similar recent drone assaults, including those targeting the Kremlin and Russian towns near the Ukrainian border, were also the work of Ukraine.

The attack was thwarted as one of the drones was destroyed by air defense systems over the Odintsovo district in the Moscow region, and the remaining two were rendered inoperative, crashing into the non-residential building complex of Moscow-City, a commercial development to the west of the city. Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, confirmed that the facades of two office towers in the city were slightly damaged, but fortunately, no one was injured.

The situation also affected air travel as Moscow's Vnukovo airport was temporarily closed for departures and arrivals, leading to flights being redirected to other airports. However, the airport resumed its operations within an hour after the attack.

These drone attacks on Moscow are part of an ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive aimed at reclaiming territory captured by Russia since the large-scale hostilities began in February 2022. In response to these incidents, Russia's foreign ministry accused the United States and its NATO allies of aiding the Kyiv regime, making such attacks possible.

In addition to the drone attacks, Russia also reported intercepting two missiles over its southern Rostov region, with debris injuring at least 16 people in the city of Taganrog. A second S-200 missile was also downed near the city of Azov, causing debris to fall in an unpopulated area. Meanwhile, a Russian strike in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia resulted in the death of two people, according to authorities in the region. On the Ukrainian side of the border, at least one civilian was killed in a missile attack on the northeastern city of Sumy, with five others injured.

These recent attacks indicate a dangerous escalation in the conflict and underscore the growing tension between the two neighboring countries. Both sides have accused each other of aggression and blamed foreign allies for supporting their opponents. The situation remains highly volatile and continues to have significant regional and global implications.

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