Russians Evacuated as 'Swarm of Drones' Reported Heading Towards Moscow

Russians were evacuated from their workplaces in Moscow's city center on Friday as reports circulated that a "swarm of drones" was headed towards the capital from the nearby city of Serpukhov, according to local media.

"A group of drones is heading towards Moscow," Maria Drutska, who works in Ukraine's foreign affairs sector, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter while sharing a video of the incident. "In Serpukhov, a group of UAVs preliminarily heading towards Moscow has just been filmed."

Local news outlet MSK1 reported that several Moscow city office blocks were evacuated due to a false report of a drone strike. It cited the Russian Telegram channel Baza as saying that some 2,000 people had been asked to evacuate. Other footage circulating online showed several fire trucks parked on a roadside.

According to the Russian Telegram channel SHOT, reports of a "swarm of drones" attack on Moscow turned out to be false. It said the objects were "light aircraft," not drones.

Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment. The Kremlin has not commented on the situation.

The incident comes after a number of recent drone attacks on Russia's capital. Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility for the attacks, in line with its policy of distancing itself from strikes on Russian soil.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that on Thursday night, air defense forces shot down a drone in the capital. The incident prompted authorities to suspend air traffic at four Moscow airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky.

The drone hit a non-residential building of Moscow's Expo Center complex in the city center in the early hours of Friday, causing a huge explosion, according to local media reports. The Russian Defense Ministry said there were no casualties.

"At about 4 a.m. Moscow time, the Kyiv regime launched another terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region," the Defense Ministry said.

Kyiv hasn't claimed responsibility.

Update 08/18/23, 8:48 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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