Moscow mayor reports drone attack after rare pre-dawn assault on Ukraine

3:52pm May 30, 2023

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported a drone attack on the Russian capital on Tuesday morning.

Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that “no one has been seriously hurt," without clarifying what it means.

Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack have been evacuated, Sobyanin said.

Ukrainian air defence intercepts a Shahed drone mid-air in the third Russia aerial attack on the capital in the last 24 hours in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Evgeniy Maloletka via AP)

The claims come after Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine's capital Tuesday as its air defences worked to stop drones in what has been a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments targeting Kyiv.

The buzzing of drones and loud explosions were heard as Ukrainian air defence responded to the third Russia aerial attack on the capital in the last 24 hours.

According to preliminary data, more than 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defence forces in Kyiv's airspace, the Kyiv Military Administration says.

One person died, three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire.

Evacuated residents look at their multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Roman Hrytsyna via AP)

The photo shows a multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Roman Hrytsyna via AP)

The two upper floors are destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, the Kiyv military administration said.

More than 20 people were evacuated.

Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set alight in the Pechersky district, according to the military administration.

Vladimir Golubenko looks at his office damaged by a drone during a night attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasilisa Stepanenko) (AP)

The series of attacks that began Sunday included a rare daylight attack Monday that left puffs of white smoke in the blue skies.

Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30am, according to Ukraine's chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

All of them were shot down, he said.

Tracks and white smoke are seen in the sky during Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, May 29, 2023. (Evgeniy Maloletka via AP)

People sit on an escalator as they shelter in a subway station during Russian missiles attack on May 29, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey via Getty Images)

Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv's central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the Kyiv military administration said.

At least one civilian was reported hurt.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it launched a series of strikes early Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles.