Ukrainian Drone Strikes Moscow High-Rise Near Kremlin, Third Night of Attacks

A Ukrainian drone struck an upscale residential high-rise in Moscow in the early hours of Monday. No one was hurt, but the building's facade showed visible damage.

The attack marked the third night in a row that drones targeted the Russian capital. It came days before Russia holds a reduced 9 May parade to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Unverified social media videos showed firefighters entering a dust-covered apartment filled with rubble and shattered windows. Another clip depicted drone wreckage scattered on the street below.

Russia's defense ministry reported intercepting 117 drones over various regions between Sunday and Monday. Sixty of them targeted the St. Petersburg region in what Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko called a massive assault.

The hit building sits in an affluent southwest Moscow neighborhood, less than 10 km (six miles) from the Kremlin and Red Square, site of Saturday's parade.

Drone warnings often close airports around the capital and halt air traffic. The Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system guards much of Moscow, making strikes so near the center uncommon.

Ahead of the 9 May events, the Kremlin cited a terrorist threat from Ukraine and scaled back the annual Red Square military parade. For the first time since 2008, it will lack armored vehicles or missile systems.

Local phone operators said mobile internet in Moscow would face restrictions for much of the week due to security needs, Russian media reported Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin fears drones over Red Square. "This is telling. We need to keep up the pressure."

Ukraine has built a stock of long-range drones since the war began. They frequently strike targets hundreds of miles inside Russia.

The drones target energy facilities and refineries to cut Russian oil output and income.

On Sunday, Zelensky said Ukrainian attacks hit three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat at two Russian ports.