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, according to local media.
A video on Russian social media showed a group of flying objects in the sky that were described as drones, reportedly heading toward Moscow.
“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 the video. “In Serpukhov, a group of UAVs preliminarily heading towards Moscow has just been filmed.”
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
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.
A GROUP OF DRONES IS HEADING TOWARDS MOSCOW
In Serpukhov, a group of UAVs preliminarily heading towards Moscow has just been filmed pic.twitter.com/hentXpRSWi
— Maria Drutska 🇺🇦 (@maria_drutska) August 18, 2023
Footage circulating online showed several fire trucks parked on a roadside.
According to 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.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.