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Large-scale drone attack hits buildings in Moscow, causing “minor damage” and no casualties, mayor says

The Insider

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Close to 25 drones were involved in a morning attack on Moscow and the Moscow region, according to a report by Telegram channel Baza. The channel's sources said most of them were shot down by air defenses in the Moscow suburbs, with some getting stuck on trees and wires as they flew by at low altitude. According to the Telegram channel Shot, over 30 drones were involved in the attack.

At least three drones crashed into residential buildings, with one of them carrying explosive devices which did not detonate.

The emergency services told RIA Novosti that in Moscow one UAV hit a house on Profsoyuznaya Street, 98, and another hit a 24-story apartment building on Atlasova Street in Novaya Moskva [“New Moscow”]. In Profsoyuznaya Street, the drone crashed into the upper floors of a building, the facade and windows were destroyed, residents of three blocks are evacuated. On Atlasova Street, the facade and the glazing of the upper floors of the building were also destroyed [as a result of a drone strike]. Also, a drone flew into house 92, building 1 on Leninsky Avenue.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin issued an official statement on the situation:

“There was minor damage to several buildings early this morning as a result of a UAV attack. All the city’s emergency services are on the scene. They are clarifying the circumstances of what happened. No one has been seriously injured so far. I ask you to trust only official sources and not to spread unverified information.”

According to Sobyanin, two people sought medical help, but no one was seriously injured:

“No one needed hospitalization, the necessary care was provided on the spot. Also, emergency services and several ambulance teams continue to work at the scene.”

According to the Telegram channel Mash, satellite navigation signals are currently jammed in Moscow. Taxi drivers and drivers are complaining about GPS failures. Moscow police has activated its “Typhoon” plan, which means the gathering of personnel involved in the elimination of the consequences of an emergency. A “Sbor” (“Gathering”) command was announced in the Moscow Emergency Situations Ministry after the drone attack, which indicates the mobilization of all personnel and the deployment of reserve equipment.

In the south-west of Moscow, traffic is blocked along Udaltsova Street from Leninsky Prospekt to Mikhail Pevtsov Street, according to the city’s Ministry of Transport (one of the drones crashed into a house in the area):

The Telegram channel Shot published eyewitness accounts of the drone attacks:

Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that residents of a high-rise apartment building on Profsoyuznaya Street in southwest Moscow were evacuated after a drone attack:

“People were promptly notified immediately after the incident. They are currently near the house, the territory is cordoned off. Emergency workers and law enforcers are working at the site. Preliminarily, there is no significant damage.

Alexey Rogozin (the son of former Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin), the head of the “Center for Transport Technologies Development,” claimed that previously unknown fixed-wing drones were used in the attack:

“The [drone’s] power is drawn from an internal combustion engine, a wingspan of at least 4 meters and a theoretical range of 400 to 1000 km. The cost can be estimated in the amount of $30-200 thousand for each machine.”