FILE PHOTO: Investigators work near a damaged roof following a reported Ukrainian drone shot down in Moscow, Russia, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/file photo
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it had thwarted the latest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow but three people were killed in a drone strike near the Ukrainian border.
The governor of Belgorod region, which neighbours Ukraine and has come under frequent attack, said the drone hit a sanatorium in a village. He said two people had died on the spot and doctors had been unable to save the life of the third.
The attempted attack in Moscow was not reported to have hurt anyone and only appeared to have caused minor damage. It was the latest in a surge of similar incidents, and once again forced Moscow's airports to briefly suspend flights as a precaution.
The Defence Ministry said air defence forces near the capital had shot down two drones over the Moscow region's Mozhaisky and Khimki districts.
It said a third had been jammed and lost control - but it nevertheless hit a high-rise building under construction in a Moscow business district. The same district, known as Moscow City, was hit twice in three days at the start of the month.
The state TASS news agency reported that glass planes on three floors of the high-rise building had been damaged. Unverified videos on social media showed minor damage from the two other drones which had been destroyed.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which rarely takes direct responsibility for drone strikes on Russian territory or on areas controlled by Russia, but which appears to have stepped up such attacks since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.
Russia's state aviation authority said that all of Moscow's airports were later operating normally after a temporary flight suspension was imposed.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Felix Light, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
