Moscow Drone Strike Damages High-Rise Before Victory Day
A Ukrainian drone struck an upmarket residential high-rise in Moscow in the early hours of Monday, damaging an upper floor in an upscale neighbourhood in south-west Moscow just days before Victory Day. No casualties were reported, and the building sits less than 10km from the Kremlin and Red Square.
Sobyanin on Moscow airspace
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two other drones were intercepted on Monday, while Vnukovo and Domodedovo international airports suspended operations overnight. The damaged façade was visible from the street, turning a single building strike into the most visible sign of the pressure on the capital before the 9 May parade.
The Russian defence ministry said 117 drones were intercepted over several Russian regions between Sunday and Monday. Aleksandr Drodzhenko, the regional governor, said 60 drones were aimed at the region of St Petersburg, which he described as a "massive" attack.
Red Square security tightening
The Kremlin said last week that it would scale back the yearly grand military parade on Red Square because of a "terrorist threat" from Ukraine. For the first time since 2008, no armoured vehicles or missile systems will feature in the 9 May parade, and several local phone operators said mobile internet will be restricted in Moscow for much of the week ahead for security reasons.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin was afraid that "drones will fly over Red Square. This is telling... We need to keep up the pressure." On Sunday, Zelensky said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat had been struck in separate attacks on two Russian ports.
Ukraine and Russia before 9 May
The Moscow strike fits a pattern of Ukrainian drones reaching the Russian capital, but successful hits close to the centre of Moscow remain relatively rare. That makes the damaged high-rise, less than 10km from the Kremlin, more than a routine air-defence alert: it is a visible breach in an area that Russia has tried to shield while preparing a scaled-back Victory Day parade.
Monday brought another layer of pressure in the form of airport suspensions, intercepted drones and tighter communications restrictions in Moscow. The next fixed moment is the 9 May parade on Red Square, where Russia plans to stage its reduced display under those security measures.
