Russia claims it destroyed Ukrainian drone that later smashed into a building in Moscow

Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone that was targeted at Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet as per the officials. The drone according to the reports, disrupted air traffic at all the civilian airports of the Russian capital.

The Russian defence ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that there were no casualties after air defences destroyed the drone whichplummeted over a non-residential building in the capital city's Expo Center complex on Friday.

"The UAV, after being exposed to air defence weapons, changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment area of Moscow," the ministry said on Telegram.

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Moscow's mayor said emergency services were on the scene.

"The wreckage of the UAV fell in the area of the Expo Centre, and did not cause significant damage to the building," Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

As per the state-run news agency TASS, one of the walls of the venue's pavilion had partially collapsed.

"The area of the collapse is about 30 square meters (323 square feet)," emergency services told TASS.

Citing aviation services, TASS reported that the airspacenearthe international airport of Vnukovo was briefly closed, delaying departures and arrivals.

According to the website, the expo centre on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River hosts regular exhibitions and trade shows.

Last week, Russia shot down a Ukrainian drone over Moscow's west, with its debris landing in a park on the Karamyshevskaya embankment.

In May, drones were shot down near the Kremlin, less than five kilometres from the Expo Centre.

As per news agency AFP reports, Russia thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack in the Black Sea on its warships hours before the drone smashed into a building in Moscow.

Russia's defence ministry said that the drone was destroyed late on Thursday night by navy patrol ships, 237 km (147 miles) southwest of Sevastopol.

Drone strikes hit two non-residential buildings in Moscow, Russia calls it a 'terrorist act'

Late last month, "drone strikes" hit two "non-residential buildings" in the Russian capital, which was termed by the defence ministry as a "terrorist act" on the Russian capital by Kyiv.

"A Kyiv regime attempt to carry out a terrorist act using two drones on objects on the territory of the city of Moscow was stopped," Russia's defence ministry said. "Two Ukrainian drones were suppressed and crashed. There are no casualties."

"We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president of the Russian Federation, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 parade," it added.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

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