Russia said a drone hit the same building in central Moscow for the second time in 48 hours, blaming Ukraine, which has made it increasingly clear it would target symbolic and military-related sites deep inside Russia.

Two other drones were shot down on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia’s defence ministry said, blaming Ukraine for the attack. Moscow’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, said a third drone hit the 21st floor of a tower damaged in a previous strike.

Ukraine does not generally confirm or deny responsibility for attacks within Russia’s borders. But footage of the overnight attacks early on Tuesday strongly suggested that a drone used in the attack was one of the Ukrainian-made long-range models identified by The New York Times.

The glass-facade high rise that was struck houses the ministries of digital development, economy and industrial development. The defence ministry said the drone was electronically jammed and lost control before crashing into the building. There was no immediate information on injuries.

The drone attack on Moscow was at least the fourth attempt in just over a week. Ukraine’s leaders have been more overt in their view that targets within Russia are a legitimate part of their effort to fight off Moscow’s invasion of their country. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said over the weekend that the war “is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centres and military bases”, calling such encroachments “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair”.

The stepped-up attacks inside Russia tacitly acknowledged by Ukraine pale in comparison to the destruction Moscow’s troops are inflicting on Ukraine’s side of the border. Overnight into Tuesday, Kharkiv in the country’s northeast, was struck by drones, causing damage to an educational institution and a sports complex, according to the regional military administration.

One person was injured in the strike, according to Oleg Synegubov, the regional military administrator.