In response to Tuesday’s drone attack on Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement accusing Ukraine of trying to intimidate Russians.
He said that innocent civilians were attacked, but the air defense had also successfully neutralized the threat.
Kyiv denied blame after the Defense Ministry released a report calling the allegation baseless that at least eight drones were responsible for minor damage in the attack in Moscow.
This is the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine that multiple drones have struck the city.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed the attack, saying no one was seriously injured. The western suburbs, where many high-ranking government officials live, were attacked by multiple drones.
Mr. Putin, speaking on Russian state television, claimed the attack was retaliation for a Russian attack on the headquarters of the Ukrainian military intelligence service.
Massive escalation in Ukraine. 🇺🇦
Putin declared today that Russia struck the Ukrainian Intelligence Headquarters in Kyiv 2-3 days ago, and the drone attack on Moscow was an attempt at retaliation.
Russia are now striking “decision-making centers”.🇷🇺https://t.co/02KfLXm8aY pic.twitter.com/YjwXQc6x8c
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 31, 2023
He continued, “In response to this, the Kyiv regime chose a different path — the path of attempts to intimidate Russia, to intimidate Russia’s citizens, and of air strikes against residential buildings.”
“This is unmistakable evidence of terrorist involvement.”
He continued, “They’re prodding us into responding in kind.”
The Russian foreign ministry claimed that the West’s backing of Kyiv “pushed the Ukrainian leadership towards ever more reckless criminal deeds, including acts of terrorism.”
However, the US Department of State reaffirmed the federal government’s stance that it does not approve of assaults within Russia. It noted that it was still collecting data on the drone attacks.
So while a midnight drone strike on Kyiv reportedly killed at least one person, the Moscow attack was followed by Russian jets carrying out a flurry of airstrikes on Ukraine’s capital.
Ukraine’s air defense forces intercepted more than 20 drones, officials said, with debris falling on nearby buildings and causing fires
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that all eight drones heading toward Moscow were successfully stopped.
The government announced, “Electronic warfare lasers caused He to lose control and veer off target, killing three of them.” The Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system destroyed five other unmanned aerial vehicles in Moscow.
Air strikes hit some of Moscow’s most strategic districts. Leninsky Prospekt, a grand boulevard constructed by Joseph Stalin, is an impacted area.
Mr. Putin, along with other members of the Russian elite, lives in a district of western Moscow that the attack has hit.
A presidential advisor named Mykhaylo Podoli predicted more instances like these and claimed that while Kyiv was not directly participating, the country was enjoying the moment.
The Russian State Duma is beginning to prepare the population for the need for shrinking territory: “drones reach Moscow because our country is too big and difficult to defend.” Z-cannibals are frightened and compare the Russian capital to Baghdad: “it’s okay, Iraq was also…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) May 30, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Moscow’s air defenses had successfully responded but said they still need “a bit of work” and needed to be “much stronger.”
A retired military officer, the strikes surprised Moscow’s citizens.
In an interview with the national press, Viktor Sobolev said that an airstrike had occurred without warning.
He claimed the Russian radar couldn’t pick up the drones low enough in the sky to trigger an air raid alarm. He recommended that Russia create a technology that can detect drones at extremely low altitudes.
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