Ukraine conflict: Moscow hit in ‘drone attack'

A specialist prepares a rope to inspect the damaged facade of a multistorey apartment building after a ‘drone' attack in Moscow on 30 May. (AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow was struck by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on 30 May, with city officials reporting that upwards of 10 ‘drones' were shot down by ground-based air defence systems located in the capital.

Footage posted online appeared to show at least one propeller-driven UAV of a previously unknown type flying over the city, as well as impact damage to a residential building.

At the time of publication, the Ukrainian government had denied responsibility, with the Kyiv Post citing Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, as saying Kyiv “has no direct relationship with [the] drone attack on Moscow”. No casualties were reported.

While Podolyak denied involvement, the footage indicated that the UAV was of the same type used against the southern Russian city of Krasnodar the previous week, which Ukrainian interest channels have referred to as the ‘Beaver'. Images posted online show this tactical-sized UAV featuring the same fore plane and pusher-propeller configuration as seen in the latest footage from Moscow.

This seeming first ‘drone' attack on the wider Russian capital city came around four weeks after the Kremlin itself was targeted in a similar fashion, with a UAV exploding over the complex in the early hours of 3 May. That event featured another propeller-driven UAV, although of a different type to the ‘Beaver'.