UPDATE: Russia claims drones shot down near Moscow, damaging buildings

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defense forces shot down two attack drones on the night of Aug. 22.

The announcements followed reports that explosions had been heard in the city, forcing all Moscow's airports to close.  

Sobyanin said that one drone was intercepted over Krasnogorsk and the other was shot down near Chastsy.

According to Sobyanin, emergency services are working at the scene. No casualties have been reported.

Russian media outlets published photos claiming to show damage caused by falling debris. The outlets said that the Krasnogorsk attack hit a 25-story apartment building near a government building, and reported that the blast shattered windows and damaged cars.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the attacks, and said that two additional drones were intercepted over Bryansk Oblast.

Earlier, on the morning of Aug. 21, Russia claimed it intercepted two drones flying over Moscow. Two people were allegedly injured.

Moscow has reported an increasing number of drone attacks over the past few weeks. An attempted strike on Aug. 18 allegedly caused debris to fall near the Moscow Expocentre.

Two drone strikes on July 30 and Aug. 1 caused damage to the high-rise "Moscow City" building, where several Russian ministries are located.  

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