Moscow: Kremlin blames Kiev for drone strikes

For many Muscovites, the war against Ukraine seemed far away for a long time – now it’s here. Early Tuesday morning, the Russian capital reported various drone attacks. Several residential buildings are slightly damaged, two people slightly injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for this and spoke of “terror”. The leadership in Kiev rejects the allegations.

“This morning the Kiev regime committed an act of terrorism using unmanned missiles on objects in the city of Moscow,” the Russian military said. According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Russian air defense intercepted all attacking drones over Moscow. “Three drones, which were neutralized by means of electronic warfare over Moscow, lost control and strayed from the intended targets,” Shoigu said, according to his ministry. “Five more were shot down by the Panzir anti-aircraft complex in the Moscow region.” According to earlier Russian reports, the attacks caused minor damage to several houses and two people were slightly injured.

Shoigu spoke of a “terrorist attack” against civilian objects. At the same time, he called his own drone and rocket attacks against Kiev and Ukrainian cities extremely successful. A US Patriot air defense system had been hit again in the past few days. In the areas of Khmelnytskyi, Ternopol and Mykolayiv, large arms depots containing Western armaments were destroyed.

Vladimir Putin himself also spoke up in the evening: he called the work of his own air defense system satisfactory, but called for further improvements. The air defense should be consolidated. “We will do that,” promised the Kremlin chief. He saw the attack as a provocation so that Russia would also attack Ukrainian civilians. He also threatened a reaction.

Attacks in Russia are increasing

Attacks have also been increasing in Russia for weeks – but mostly in the immediate border region with Ukraine and not on civilian objects. However, it was not the first time that drones had flown into the capital since the war began more than 15 months ago. Only in early May were two missiles intercepted just above the Kremlin. That brought spectacular pictures.

At that time, from the point of view of the Muscovites, it was not the roof of their own building that was hit, but the official residence of President Vladimir Putin – and he was not at home at the time mentioned. But now the uncertainty in the giant metropolis with more than 13 million inhabitants is great. The social networks are overflowing.

Photos show columns of smoke in the sky and over a field. A man’s voice can be heard in a video: “They are getting closer and closer,” he says, while apparently filming the approaching objects from the window of his apartment. “I don’t know what to do. I should probably hide.” What happened to him then is not known. Several buildings were evacuated as a precaution. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov used the incident to once again justify the war of aggression – in Russian words: the “special military operation” – against the neighbor.

More attacks on Kyiv

In Ukraine, on the other hand, attacks with drones, cruise missiles and rockets on residential areas have been a brutal reality for months. The United Nations has registered more than 8,700 killed Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of the war, in reality it is likely to be significantly more. That exceeds the number of victims on Russian territory many times over. Russia only bombed the capital Kiev again on Tuesday night. A house was also hit and a woman was killed. Never since February have there been so many drone and rocket attacks in Kiev in one month.

So it is not surprising that the Ukrainians show little sympathy for the affected residents in Moscow. “We look at it with pleasure,” said an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podoliak. At the same time, he emphasized that the Ukrainian leadership had nothing to do with it. “You know that we are approaching the era of artificial intelligence,” he added sardonically. “Maybe not all drones are ready to attack Ukraine and they want to go back to their creators.”

As after the incident at the Kremlin, the Internet is now puzzling over whether the attacks could be a so-called false flag action by Moscow to justify a further escalation in the war. Others point out that the targets located to the west and south-west of Moscow could well suggest a launch of the drones in Ukraine.

Possibly preparation for counter-offensive

Some experts see the attacks and acts of sabotage on Russian territory as a preparation for the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive. They could force the Kremlin to strengthen anti-aircraft defenses over Moscow at the expense of strategically important sectors of the front.

According to Zelenskyy, the plans for recapturing the areas occupied by Russia are now complete. “The decisions have been made,” says the Ukrainian president. “There is no alternative but the complete liberation of our country.” Including the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed in 2014, Russian troops currently occupy around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

London: Ukraine allowed to attack Russian territory

According to British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Ukraine has the right to attack targets on Russian territory for the purpose of self-defense. The conservative politician said this at a press conference with his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

However, Cleverly declined to comment on the drones that fell on Moscow. “I have no details and I will not speculate on the nature of the drone strikes on Moscow,” he said. In principle, however, it is part of Ukraine’s right to self-defense to strike beyond its own territory in order to reduce Russia’s ability to strike Ukrainian territory.