FILE PHOTO: Investigators work near a damaged roof following a reported Ukrainian drone shot down in Moscow, Russia, August 18, 2023.  REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/file photo
Russia

Russian defence thwarts latest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow

Russia's Defence Ministry said it had thwarted the latest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, bringing down three drones in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said it had thwarted the latest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, bringing down three drones in the early hours of Wednesday morning, one of which collided with a building under construction in a central business district.

The attempted attack was not reported to have hurt anyone and only appears to have caused minor damage, but was the latest in an upsurge of similar incidents and once again forced Moscow's airports to briefly suspend flights as a precautionary measure.

The Defence Ministry said air defence forces had shot down two of the three drones over the wider Moscow region's Mozhaisky and Khimki districts.

A third drone had been brought down using electronic warfare equipment, lost control and crashed into a high-rise building under construction in the Moscow City business district, the ministry said.

It said there had been no casualties.

The state TASS news agency reported that glass planes on three floors of the high-rise building had been damaged. Unverified videos on social media showed minor damage from the two other drones which had been destroyed.

Russia's state aviation authority said that all of Moscow's airports were operating normally after a temporary flight suspension was imposed in the early hours of Wednesday due to the attempted drone attack.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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