Targeting the Kremlin… Ukraine Fails in Its Counterattack on the Russian Capital 

Russian authorities stated that a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow caused damage to a building in the central business district, located only 5 kilometers away from the Kremlin. This attack occurred on the sixth consecutive night of aerial attacks on the Russian capital. Despite the intensive attacks, Ukraine’s attempts at a counteroffensive against Russia have failed before the onset of the harsh winter.

The Failed Attack

According to the French news agency, Russia suspended air travel at all its airports for several hours following the attack, before resuming normal operations. During the conflict, both Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone strikes on each other’s cities. Currently, Ukrainian forces are engaged in a fierce counteroffensive.

The recent attack on Moscow follows Ukrainian authorities reporting that Russian artillery shelled two villages near the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, resulting in the death of three individuals and injuring two others.

The agency further reported that the Russian capital, Moscow, located hundreds of kilometers from the front line, has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks. Despite no reports of significant damage, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the air defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region.

The ministry added that a third drone crashed into a commercial building in Moscow’s business district, about five kilometers from the Kremlin, after being “intercepted” by air defenses. Airport Shutdown

The TASS news agency, citing aviation services, mentioned that air traffic at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Domodedovo airports in Moscow was temporarily halted.

Images from the French news agency showed emergency service vehicles lining a street beneath brightly lit skyscrapers. One of the windows of a multi-story building was shattered, with black burn marks surrounding its frame.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, stated on Telegram that emergency services were examining the area in the business district. He added that “several windows were broken in two neighboring five-story buildings.”

Both Sobyanin and the Ministry of Defense confirmed no reports of casualties.

In the Khimki area, wreckage from a drone caused a partial collapse of the roof of a private house and damaged a non-residential building, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

The agency reported that there were no injuries.

Repelling Attacks

The British newspaper “The Guardian” confirmed that in recent weeks, two other drone attacks on Moscow’s financial district were repelled, causing minor damage to the facades of tall buildings. In May, drones were shot down near the Kremlin.

On Tuesday, Moscow announced that it had destroyed two Ukrainian military boats in the strategic waterway, one of which was carrying troops. Additionally, two fighter jets were sent to intercept two drones over the Black Sea, without specifying the nation that deployed them.

These incidents followed the arrival of the first civilian cargo ship sailing from Ukraine through the Black Sea to Istanbul in defiance of the Russian blockade. Since exiting the agreement, Moscow has targeted the Odessa and Mykolaiv regions in southern Ukraine, which are home to critical grain ports and infrastructure.