A missile fragment lodged in a balcony in Podolsk, near Moscow, 6 May 2025. Photo: ASTRA
An object that appeared to be part of a missile has become lodged in the balcony of a block of flats in the city of Podolsk, in the Moscow region, Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported on Tuesday.
As Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and the region overnight, local residents near the scene heard two powerful explosions and noticed the fragment wedged into the balcony on Tuesday morning. It appears to be part of an anti-aircraft missile used to destroy Ukrainian drones, according to Ostorozhno Novosti.
The Moscow region Emergency Situations Ministry told journalists to contact the Defence Ministry for comment, saying “no rescue units” had been deployed to Podolsk. The house was cordoned off and its residents have been evacuated, Ostorozhno Novosti said.
Air defences downed 19 drones over the capital and the Moscow region in five separate incidents overnight, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, in the biggest attack on the Russian capital since March, when 74 drones were shot down in one night.
The wreckage of one drone fell on a highway, Sobyanin said, but caused no major damage or any casualties. All four Moscow airports temporarily suspended flights due to drones, though have now resumed operations, according to Russia’s federal aviation authority, Rosaviatsia. Airports in other Russian cities also saw temporary closures.
The heightened drone activity likely contributed to the decision by the Russian-installed authorities in the Crimean city of Sevastopol to cancel their Victory Day celebrations for the third year running, which came just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv could not guarantee the safety of foreign officials who travel to Moscow for the Victory Day parade on Friday.
