Drone hits tower housing Russian ministries for second time in three days

On Tuesday, a drone struck a high-rise building in Moscow’s financial sector that houses three Russian government ministries for the second time in three days, in what Russia described as an attempted “terrorist attack” by Ukraine.

According to a Ukrainian presidential adviser, Moscow should prepare for “more war” and additional drone assaults.

The “IQ quarter” structure, which was struck, is home to the ministries of industry and trade, digital development, and economic development. A portion of its glass front that was perched high above the ground was seen in video obtained by Reuters to have been damaged by the collision.

“At the moment, experts are assessing the damage and the state of the infrastructure for the safety of people in the building. This will take some time,” Darya Levchenko, an adviser to the economy minister, said on Telegram. She said staff were working by video-conference.

Since the beginning of May, when two drones were launched at the roof of a building inside the Kremlin complex, Moscow has experienced several drone strikes.

The episodes have not resulted in any fatalities or significant property damage, but they have aroused considerable disquiet and are inconsistent with the Kremlin’s claim that Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine is going as planned.

“Indeed, a threat exists, it is obvious, but measures are being taken,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, declining to comment further.

Ukraine has drawn satisfaction from the attacks, though without directly claiming responsibility for them.

“Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

He said Russia should expect “more unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts, more war”.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that it had stopped the “attempted terrorist attack” and shot down two drones west of Moscow’s downtown.

According to the report, a second attempt was stopped by jamming tools before it “out of control” and crashed into buildings in the Moskva-Citi commercial sector.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said it struck the same skyscraper as on Sunday. The 21st floor’s facade has been harmed. Over 150 square metres of glazing were destroyed, he claimed.

One of the three main airports serving the capital, Vnukovo Airport, briefly shut down before resuming full operations.

There are indications that the occurrences are unsettling Russian companies. Yandex (YNDX.O), a digital company, sent a note to staff on Sunday after the first drone struck Moskva-Citi warning them not to work late and to “take care.”

(With agency inputs)