Ukrainian Drones Strike Moscow Skyscraper

Drones have targeted an elite office building and residential skyscraper in Moscow, which Russia claims to be an 'attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime'.

Explosions tore through several floors of a major office block early on Sunday morning, resulting in screams echoing across the neighborhood.

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, they managed to bring down three Ukrainian drones attempting to attack the capital on that Sunday morning.

Moscow also alleged that it thwarted a Ukrainian assault on Russia-annexed Crimea using 25 drones overnight.

The Crimea region, annexed by Russia in 2014, has faced frequent attacks during Moscow's Ukraine offensive, with intensified strikes in recent weeks, as Kyiv aims to reclaim the territory.

The suspected Ukrainian attack on Moscow is seen as retaliation, mirroring the terror inflicted on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during the ongoing war.

The Russian defense ministry reported that they destroyed sixteen Ukrainian UAVs using air defense fire. Additionally, nine other drones were disrupted by electronic warfare and crashed into the Black Sea without reaching their target.

The first drone struck the 50-storey IQ Quarter Tower, part of the Moscow City business district that includes elite residential apartments and penthouses. Fortunately, no one was injured, and only minor damage occurred to the façade of two office buildings.

The attack struck close to the White House, the headquarters of the Russian government, and damaged buildings housing several Russian government ministries along with residential apartments.

Guests at a Novotel hotel in Moscow City were panicked by the attack, with some witnessing the drones hitting the buildings.

Flights at the Vnukovo international airport were temporarily halted due to the drone strikes but later resumed after air defenses operated successfully in the Odintsovo district.

The defense ministry stated that two drones in Moscow City crashed after being brought down using radio-electronic equipment, while another drone was shot down over the Odintsovo area.

The attack was regarded as an 'attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime'. Similarly, Russia claimed that 25 Ukrainian drones attempting to attack Crimea were thwarted, with all of them either shot down or forced to crash.

In response to the drone strike on Moscow's skyscraper zone, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy on the Russian security council, issued a blunt threat of nuclear weapons usage, emphasizing the importance of Russia's military in preventing global conflict.

Following the attack, President Putin mentioned the possibility of peace talks with Ukraine but warned that certain conditions must be met for negotiations to begin.

Both Ukraine and Russia have previously set preconditions for negotiations, and Ukraine's President Zelensky rejected the idea of a ceasefire as it could leave Russia in control of a significant portion of Ukrainian territory.

Reports also emerged of Saudi Arabia planning to host a peace summit in early August to facilitate negotiations over Russia's war on Ukraine, involving Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa, and other countries, with the US expected to participate.

The attack in Moscow on Sunday followed a similar attempt by Ukraine using two drones the previous Monday, with one falling near the Defense Ministry's headquarters and the other hitting an office building in southern Moscow.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov had previously warned of more drone strikes, and there was no immediate response from Kyiv to the latest incident. Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries reported in these attacks.