Russian capital Moscow hit by drone attacks for two consecutive days... "Ukraine's rear disruption"

Partial Damage to International Business Center... Heightened Anxiety
Russian Defense Ministry "Ukraine's Act, 3 Drones Shot Down"

Moscow, the capital of Russia, experienced drone attacks for the second consecutive day, with the International Business Center located in the city center suffering partial damage. The Russian Ministry of Defense dismissed the drone attacks as the work of Ukraine, claiming all drones were shot down and there were no casualties. However, concerns about the prolonged war and direct damage to rear areas are reportedly growing both inside and outside Russia.

On the 1st (local time), some floors of the Moscow International Business Center building were damaged following a drone strike. Moscow=Photo by TASS and Yonhap News Agency

According to TASS news agency on the 1st (local time), Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, stated via his Telegram channel early that morning, "Several new drones flying toward Moscow last night were shot down by air defense systems," adding, "The entire front of the 21st floor of a business center building was damaged, and windows covering an area of 150㎡ were broken, but there were no casualties."

According to the British BBC, Moscow was subjected to drone attacks for two consecutive days. The business center building attacked this time within the Moscow-City complex houses offices of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Digital Development, and Ministry of Industry and Trade. Employees of these departments have reportedly been instructed to work from home for the time being.

The Russian government immediately blamed Ukraine for the attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release, "Ukraine attacked facilities in Moscow and the Moscow region with three drones," adding, "Two of them were shot down by air defense systems in the western outskirts of Moscow, and the other was intercepted by electronic warfare equipment and crashed in Moscow-City."

Vnukovo International Airport, located in the southwestern outskirts of Moscow near the drone flight path, was temporarily closed. The airport announced, "Aircraft takeoffs and landings were restricted from 2:53 AM to 3:26 AM, and the restriction was lifted at 3:50 AM."

Although Ukrainian authorities have not yet issued an official statement, the attacks are being analyzed inside and outside Russia as part of Ukraine's rear disruption operations. It is known that the Ukrainian military has been developing long-range strike drones independently since last year. The main purpose appears to be to increase fear of the war and anti-war sentiment by attacking rear metropolitan areas like Moscow rather than frontline regions.

The New York Times (NYT) analyzed flight videos, prototypes, debris images, and expert opinions, concluding that three drone models were identified: Ukraine’s domestically developed Bober, UJ-22 Airborne, and an unidentified drone. The analysis suggested, "The goal of Ukrainian drones seems to be to gradually instill fear within Russia."