Spokesperson For The Russian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Calls Drone Attacks In Moscow International Terrorism

JAKARTA - The drone strike in Moscow on Monday was an act of international terrorism, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"(It was) an act of international terrorism," he told RTVI TV channel, commenting on the incident.

Russia's Ministry of Defense previously told reporters, "on the morning of July 24, Kyiv attempted to carry out a terrorist attack on facilities in Moscow, using two unmanned aircraft, successfully thwarted."

The ministry said the "electronic warfare system destabilized two Ukrainian drones, causing them to fall." No one was injured, the ministry added.

In addition to Moscow, about 17 drones also launched an overnight attack on Ukraine's annexed Crimea in 2014, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding it had used unmanned anti-aircraft and defense equipment to bring them down.

"Today at night, drones are attacking the capitals of 'the Ortics' and Crimea," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said, using an insulting term used by some Ukrainians for Russia.

"Electronic warfare and air defense are no longer able to defend the sky from the invaders," he said.

Writing on Telegram's messaging app Fedorov, one of the officials spearheading Ukraine's efforts to create a'manned drone strike', added: "Whatever happens, there will be more."

As previously reported, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in the Telegram messaging application, two non-residential buildings were attacked at around 04:00 a.m. local time, but caused no serious damage or casualties.

It was not immediately clear whether the drone hit the building when it crashed, or whether the drone was deliberately targeting the building.

Neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Mayor of Moscow said where the drone was intercepted.

Separately, the Russian government's news agency quoted emergency services as reporting that pieces of the drone were found near a building on Jalan Komsomolsky, which stretches across the center of Moscow. The location is only about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Ministry of Defense building.