MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone attack damaged a building in central Moscow early on Friday, causing a blast that was heard across the business district of the Russian capital, Russian officials said.
A Reuters witness who was in the area described it as “a powerful explosion”.
Russian air defence systems shot down a drone and its debris fell on the Expo Center, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement on his official channel on Telegram.
The Expo Center is a large space used for massive exhibitions, less than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away from the Kremlin.
A video published by Russian media outlets showed thick smoke rising next to skyscrapers.
The Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine was behind the drone attack.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Maria Tsvetkova, Lidia Kelly and Mrinmay Dey; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)