A Ukrainian military drone has damaged a building in central Moscow, causing an explosion that was heard across the city's business district in the latest attack on the Russian capital by unmanned aerial vehicles. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that air defence systems had shot down a drone early on Friday morning and debris had fallen on the city's Expo Center. The Expo Center – a large event space used for major exhibitions – is located less than 5km (3.1 miles) from the Kremlin. A video published by Russian media outlets showed thick smoke rising next to skyscrapers in the city. The Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine launched the drone attack at about 4am local time (01:00 GMT) "using an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region".

It said that, after activating the city's air defence systems, the drone had "changed its flight path", falling on a non-residential building on the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, an area of Moscow which hosts a number of government buildings.