Ukrainian drone damages building in Moscow disrupting air traffic, Russia says

On August 18th, in Moscow, a Ukrainian drone collided with a building following its interception by Russian air defenses. This incident led to disruptions in air traffic across all civilian airports in the Russian capital, as confirmed by Russian officials.

An observer from Reuters, present in the vicinity, reported a notable explosion. Visual documentation from Reuters displayed personnel and emergency responders assessing the damage to the roof of a non-residential structure struck by the drone. Moscow's Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, and the Russian defense ministry affirmed that the downed drone had no casualties associated with it. The drone was obliterated by air defenses, falling onto a non-residential section of Moscow's Expo Center complex during the early hours of that Friday.

The Expo Center encompasses extensive exhibition pavilions and versatile halls, situated just under 5 kilometers (approximately 3.1 miles) away from the Kremlin.

The Russian defense ministry asserted that around 4 am Moscow time, the "Kyiv regime" executed what they described as a terrorist act, deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle to target locations in Moscow and the Moscow region. As of that moment, no response or statement was received from Kyiv.

Operations at major airports in the capital – Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky – experienced brief suspensions but were subsequently reinstated. Russia's air transport authority conveyed that seven flights were redirected to alternate airports as a result of the disruption.

Drone-based attacks within Russia have been increasing, with notable instances including a drone destruction over the Kremlin in early May. This escalation saw civilian areas of Moscow being targeted in subsequent attacks later in May, followed by two strikes within a three-day span on a business district in Moscow earlier in the same month.

Both Ukraine and Russia have consistently denied accusations of intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure or civilians during the nearly 18-month-long conflict.

Ukraine usually refrains from commenting on the origins of attacks within Russian territory, although there have been instances of public expressions of satisfaction from Ukrainian officials regarding such actions.

According to a report by The New York Times in May, intelligence agencies from the United States believed that Ukrainian espionage or military intelligence units were responsible for the drone strike on the Kremlin.

The conflict began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, subsequently triggering a devastating war that has caused widespread destruction in various parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. This conflict has resulted in the loss of life and injuries to hundreds of thousands, also causing the most significant strain in Russia's relations with Western nations since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.