A Moscow high-rise was the target of a drone strike for the second time in approximately 48 hours, causing damage to the structure and highlighting the city’s vulnerability. The attack, allegedly orchestrated by Kyiv, took place in the early hours of Tuesday, according to Russian authorities.
Russian officials have asserted that these repeated attacks on the nation’s capital reveal Ukraine’s counteroffensive strategy to regain Russian-held territory inadequacies. Although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked over the weekend that “the war is gradually coming back to Russian territory,” he did not directly accept responsibility for the attacks.
Zelenskyy’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, indicated in a tweet that Moscow “is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war” but remained noncommittal regarding Kyiv’s participation in the attack.
The repeated drone assaults have drawn attention to Moscow’s vulnerability as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine extends into its 18th month.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that it downed two Ukrainian drones outside Moscow early Tuesday and interfered with another, causing it to crash into a skyscraper in the Moscow City business district, damaging the structure.
Moscow’s Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed that the drone collided with the same building previously targeted in an identical attack early Sunday. The IQ-Quarter, situated 7.2 kilometres (4.5 miles) from the Kremlin, hosts several government agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Sobyanin stated that the attack did not cause any casualties.
The reason behind the repeated targeting of the same building remains unclear. In both instances, the Russian military stated that the drones were interfered with before crashing – a detail that has led even Kremlin’s staunch supporters to raise questions.
Margarita Simonyan, the chief editor of the state-funded TV channel RT, queried in a social media post, “A drone hitting the same tower for the second time in a row, where three federal ministries are located, at least requires explaining the comments that the electronic warfare downed them all.”
When asked about the safety of the Russian capital in light of drones hitting the same building despite alleged jamming, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deferred the question to the Defense Ministry, stating only that “the threat exists and measures are being taken.”
Mayor Sobyanin disclosed that the drone hit the 21st floor of the Economic Development Ministry. Images from the crash site showed multiple panels of missing glass, exposing the scorched interior of the building, with about a dozen more damaged. Sobyanin reported that the damage affected approximately 150 square meters (about 1,600 square feet) of the building’s glass facade.
Interfax, the Russian news agency, reported that Darya Levchenko, an adviser to the economic development minister, said the ministry’s staff was working remotely on Tuesday while damage assessments were being made.
Furthermore, the Russian military reported that Ukrainian forces attempted to assault two Black Sea warships using maritime drones. According to the Defense Ministry, three drones aimed at two patrol vessels, Sergei Kotov and Vasily Bykov, were all destroyed, and the ships continued their mission.
Following the attacks on Moscow and Crimea, which was unlawfully annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, Russia launched a lethal missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine and the hometown of Zelenskyy. This assault partially demolished a residential building, resulting in seven fatalities and injuring dozens more.
Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s second-largest city using Iranian-made Shahed drones, as Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported. Several more drone strikes hit the town of Kherson, with one strike killing a doctor and injuring a nurse at a medical facility.
The presidential office of Ukraine reported that at least 12 civilians were killed and 104 injured in the country during the previous 24 hours. A deadly attack on Kryvyi Rih claimed seven lives, including a 10-year-old girl, marking it as one of the most fatal attacks on civilians in recent weeks.
As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues into its 18th month, the frequent attacks and escalating tensions present an increasingly complex situation for the international community. Despite the alarming repercussions, both sides appear steadfast, leading to a protracted standoff that threatens the region’s stability. With the latest attacks, the crisis has further escalated, bringing the war to the Russian capital and highlighting the severity of the situation. Only time will tell how this evolving situation will be resolved and at what cost.
