Ukrainian drone attack foiled in Moscow, airport briefly closed
Several Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow on Sunday, damaging buildings and temporarily suspending flights at Vnukovo International Airport. Flights have resumed and the Russian Defense Minister claims to have thwarted the attack. Follow the latest developments live.
One person was injured in the explosion of a Moscow building attacked by Ukrainian drones on Sunday, according to the Russian news agency TASS, citing emergency services.
The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, had earlier stated that the facades of the two office buildings were slightly damaged but that there were no casualties, as reported by TASS.
The Ukrainian government has not immediately responded to a request for comment, Reuters reports.
The second building affected by the drone attack in the International Business Center of Moscow (Moskva City), July 30, 2023. © AFP
4:57 am: Drone attack on Moscow thwarted, according to the Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian Ministry of Defense says it shot down one of the three drones directed at Moscow and “neutralized” the other two, which eventually crashed into buildings.
“The terrorist attack attempt by the Kiev regime with drones on targets in the city of Moscow has been thwarted,” the ministry said on Telegram, adding that one drone had been shot down and two others had been “neutralized by electronic warfare” and crashed into a complex of buildings.
4:43 am: Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport briefly closed, flights resume
Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport was briefly closed to traffic before flights resumed early Sunday, the Russian news agency TASS reported, after the city’s mayor announced that a Ukrainian drone strike had hit two buildings in the capital.
3:44 am: Ukrainian drones strike two buildings in Moscow
An overnight attack by Ukrainian drones on Moscow damaged two office buildings, the mayor of the Russian capital said early Sunday, adding that no one was injured.
“Ukrainian drones attacked last night. The facades of two office towers in the city were slightly damaged. There are no victims or injuries,” said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Telegram.
Attacks on Moscow and its surroundings, which are nearly 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, had been rare since the start of the conflict in February 2022, until several drone incursions occurred in 2023.
12:04 am: Russian rocket kills at least one person in Sumy, Ukraine
At least one civilian was killed on Saturday evening in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy in the northeast of the country, the police announced, reporting five injuries in this attack that hit an educational institution.
“An enemy missile struck a school in the evening of July 29,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry confirmed on Telegram.
“The police, rescuers, and doctors are active on site,” the police said, adding that efforts to combat the “consequences of the fire” caused by the missile strike are underway.
Essential news from July 29
In Ukraine, a man and a woman were killed on Saturday in a Russian strike that hit Zaporizhia, a major city in southern Ukraine.
Russia has expressed its willingness to hold talks with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin stated that he does not reject the idea of negotiations, adding that peace initiatives presented by African countries or China could provide a basis for peace.
In Poland, the Prime Minister states that Wagner is approaching the border, though he does not provide evidence. About a hundred Wagner group fighters have approached the Belarusian city of Grodno, near the Polish border, said Mateusz Morawiecki. In early July, Poland began moving over 1,000 soldiers to the east of the country, fearing that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus would increase tensions on its border.
Reuters
