Ukrainian military drone crashes into Moscow building, Russian authorities say

A Ukrainian military drone was shot down by Russia's air defence army before colliding with a central building in Moscow, bringing about an explosion as debris falls at the city's Expo Center.

According to a Telegram post by the Russian military, The attack took place at about 4:00 local time (01:00 GMT), according to a Telegram post by the Russian military.

The post’s message added that the drone "changed its flight path" and hit a non-residential structure in the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment neighbourhood of Moscow after the city's air defence systems were activated. However, there were no reports of any casualties.

"The drone was shot down by a Russian air defence team as its debris fell on the city's Expo Centre", said Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

The Expo Centre, located on the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment of the Moskva River, frequently conducts exhibitions and trade shows. The location is 100 metres (328 feet) from Moscow City, an office complex in the major commercial sector of the capital that was struck twice in a matter of days by drone attack debris this month.

Unverified social media footage showed Moscow covered in a thick, grey plume of smoke after the drone attack.

Ukraine's government did not respond right away to the latest drone attack, but it has never openly acknowledged carrying out attacks against Moscow-based targets.

As per Russian state-owned media Tass, one of the Expo center's outer walls has partially fallen and about 30 square meters (323 square feet) area is believed to be affected.

Moscow was unaffected by the conflict in Ukraine until earlier this year, but during the recent months of May and July, it has been targeted by drone strikes destroying several buildings and urban centers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that the war was "returning to the territory of Russia" and that this was an "inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process", reported BBC.

"Hours before the latest strike in Moscow, a Ukrainian sea drone was destroyed during an attempted attack on Russia's naval fleet in the Black Sea", Russia's defence ministry confirmed.