A drone hit a residential tower in an upscale Moscow district in a rare strike near the city centre ahead of the traditional World War II Victory Day parade.
Moscow air defences repelled an attack by two Ukrainian drones, and one hit the building on Mosfilmovskaya Street, according to a post on Monday by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Emergency services were sent to the scene, and there were no reports of casualties.
Mosfilmovskaya is about 6-8km (about 4-5 miles) from the Kremlin, and local media showed damage to the upper floors of a high-end residential building. It was a rare example of a drone strike in the city as air defences typically intercept them outside the capital or in the suburbs.
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It happened as Moscow prepared to stage its traditional May 9 parade marking the World War II defeat of Nazi Germany.
Russia’s Defence Ministry announced last week that the parade would take place without heavy military equipment for the first time since 2007, in what the Kremlin said was a response to potential security threats.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to deliver a speech at the parade. Putin, who has ruled Russia for over 25 years, has turned Victory Day into a key pillar of his tenure and has tried to use it to justify the war in Ukraine.