Ukrainian drones hit two buildings in Moscow and an ammunition depot in annexed Crimea on Monday, Russian officials said.
Authorities in Moscow reported two Ukrainian drones had been downed over the Russian capital during the night.
“Around 4:00 a.m. today, drone strikes on two non-residential buildings were recorded. There is no serious damage or casualties,” wrote Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the Telegram messaging app.
One of the drones crashed close to the Russian Defense Ministry building in the city center, while the other hit an office building in southern Moscow.
The attacks came a day after Kyiv vowed to "retaliate" for a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa.
A Ukrainian defense source told AFP that the drone attack on the Russian capital was a "special operation" carried out by Kyiv's forces.
"Today's drone attack on Moscow was a GUR special operation," the source said, referring to Ukraine's military intelligence.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the two drones were “suppressed” by electronic warfare systems, causing them to crash. It did not comment on reported damage to buildings.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the Moscow drone strikes as an “act of international terrorism.”
Meanwhile, in annexed Crimea, an ammunition depot came under a drone attack, the Kremlin-installed head of the peninsula said early Monday.
“An ammunition depot in the Dzhankoi district [of northern Crimea] was hit,” Crimea Governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram, adding that electronic warfare systems had shot down or suppressed 11 Ukrainian drones over the Russia-controlled peninsula.
He did not indicate whether the depot was struck by a direct hit or falling debris.
Aksyonov noted that there were no casualties in the attack, but said residents of nearby settlements would still be evacuated to temporary shelters.
Railway service was suspended and vehicle traffic was rerouted for safety reasons, he added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry later reported that a total of 17 Ukrainian drones had targeted Crimea overnight.
On Saturday, Aksyonov said a Ukrainian drone attack in central Crimea struck another Russian ammunition depot.
Both attacks came a week after seaborne drones struck the only bridge linking annexed Crimea to mainland Russia, killing two people and triggering a string of deadly “retribution” attacks by Moscow on targets in southern Ukraine.
AFP contributed reporting.
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