A drone hits a skyscraper in Moscow amid Putin's psychosis over Ukrainian attacks

MoscowIt was the last thing Vladimir Putin wanted in the most important week of the year. A Ukrainian drone has impacted an emblematic luxury residential skyscraper a few kilometers from the Kremlin. The incident, which caused no casualties, occurs five days before the Victory Day military parade, the global showcase of Russian military potential. For the first time in almost two decades, neither tanks nor missiles will be displayed because their safety cannot be guaranteed, and Putin, in full psychosis over a possible attack by Kyiv, has even desperately proposed a truce of a few hours to ensure that Volodymyr Zelensky does not spoil his party. 

The Mosfilm Tower is not just any target. It is visible from almost any point in the southwest of the Russian capital. Among those who own apartments there are the Minister of Agriculture and deputies of United Russia, and it is located in a neighborhood where many embassies are situated. “We heard the buzzing of an engine and, suddenly, a very loud explosion,” a neighbor who lives on the same street where the drone crashed tells ARA. The aircraft only caused some damage on one of the upper floors and the fright of the residents. But the impact was symbolic. If one of Putin's main objectives was that the war should not reach Moscow, the fact that a Ukrainian drone has hit a skyscraper where not ordinary people, but part of the Russian elite live, is alarming for the Kremlin leader.

And even more so when this happens on the eve of May 9. The fear is such that the Russian president has ordered that only columns of soldiers will parade on Red Square on Saturday. The official excuse is prevention against the “terrorist threat”, but the reality is that he fears an attack by Kyiv against the warehouses where the armored vehicles and missiles should be accumulated on the eve of the celebration commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. 

As he did last year, Putin has proposed a unilateral ceasefire coinciding with the holiday, convinced that Zelensky will have no choice but to respect it if he does not want problems with Donald Trump. The Ukrainian leader has declared that this announcement proves that the Russian president "does not feel strong." But not even a truce seems enough to appease his nervousness. The attack on the skyscraper shows that the powerful rings of air defense systems surrounding the capital are not infallible. For this reason, in recent hours, more soldiers than usual have been seen, armed with machine guns, on the towers and bridges near the Kremlin, combing the sky in search of enemy drones. Already in 2025, around this time, the administration had to ask its employees to keep guard on the roofs of public buildings, with binoculars, in case they detected any unmanned vehicle.

Telecommunication companies have also begun to warn customers that mobile internet will not work in Moscow, and in some cases neither will SMS messages, from May 5 to 9. A measure that technology experts insist is ineffective in stopping Ukrainian devices, but that lately the authorities have become accustomed to imposing without hesitation in the face of any danger. Furthermore, at airports near the capital, such as Sheremetyevo, the zeal in checking travelers' luggage has been so great that significant collapses have occurred at the terminals.

Fear of an attack on Putin

Several media outlets reported this Monday that Putin's psychosis is not only explained by the fear that the May 9th parade will be marred, but because, for some months, he fears being the victim of an assassination. Recently, according to a report by European intelligence, the FSO – the service responsible for the president's security – has further intensified its precautions. The Kremlin leader has reduced his visits, and he and his family have stopped traveling to presidential residences outside of Moscow. Putin has been working for weeks from bunkers, and those closest to him (photographers, cooks, or bodyguards) are prohibited from traveling on public transport or using mobile phones with internet access while they are near him.

It is not at all common for the Russian leader himself to admit that Ukrainian attacks are becoming more constant, as he did last week, following the repeated bombings of the port of Tuapse, on the Black Sea. Anti-aircraft systems are overwhelmed and cannot protect Russian cities. In 2008, when Putin incorporated tanks and missiles into the Victory Day parade, he explained that he was doing so to demonstrate that they were “capable of defending their citizens.” Eighteen years later, everything indicates that he is not only incapable of defending his citizens, but also the tanks and missiles.