ISTANBUL

Russia claimed on Friday it thwarted yet another Ukrainian drone attack on the capital Moscow.

“On August 18, at about 04:00 Moscow time (0100GMT), the Kyiv regime launched another terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It added that the drone changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in Moscow’s Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment after being “exposed to air defense systems,” causing no deaths or injuries.

Drone strikes inside Russia have dramatically increased in recent months, with authorities accusing Ukraine of being behind them.

Although Kyiv has not claimed responsibility, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late July that the attacks on Russian territory are an “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”

Russia started its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.