Moscow Explosions As Multiple Drones Hit Russian Capital

Authorities in Moscow have said that the Russian capital was attacked by drones as reports of explosions and buildings being hit were shared on social media.

The city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a Telegram post there had been "insignificant damage" to some buildings, two of which were evacuated. "So far, no one has been seriously hurt," he wrote.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it has launched an investigation into the incidents and "people involved in the crime are being identified," state news agency Tass reported.

Posts on Russian Telegram channels said that at around 4 a.m. local time around 30 drones took part in the attack, 10 of which were destroyed.

The Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said that several drones were "shot down" as they approached the city.

One drone reportedly hit the upper floors of a residential building on Profsoyuznaya Street about eight miles southwest of the Kremlin in the Cheryomushki District.

Another drone reportedly flew into the 14th floor of a high-rise building on Leninsky Avenue near the same area but did not explode. A different drone damaged a building on Atlasova Street, further southwest.

Financial Times journalist Max Seddon tweeted video of what he described was footage from Telegram channel Shot that shows a drone being targeted over Rublyovka, "the home of Russia's elite" and said that the drone attack was "possible payback for heavy drone and missile strikes on Kyiv."

"Air defense was at work in Moscow today," tweeted Ukrainian internal affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko next to another video.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that five drones had been shot down by the Pantsir—S SAm system following a "terrorist drone attack" by Kyiv on Moscow. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.

A number of strikes on Russian infrastructure, such as airfields and military depots, have taken place since the start of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv has not commented on the latest reports that come weeks after Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone strike on the Kremlin at the start of May.

Also on Tuesday morning, Russia launched a pre-dawn drone air raid which killed at least one person. Kyiv's military administration said Ukrainian air defense destroyed at least 20 Iranian-supplied Shahed UAVs over Ukraine's capital.

On Monday, Russian forces fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv, sending panicked residents running for shelter.

"Most of us got little to no sleep last night, hearing explosions and praying for our air defense," Gerashchenko wrote. "We joke that in Kyiv it will take you three days to get eight hours of sleep. We hold on, we fight and we will get through all this."

Update 05/30/23, 4:23 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.