(Moscow) Russia claimed on Tuesday to have shot down eight Ukrainian drones which targeted Moscow and its region, seeing in this unusual attack a “response” from Ukraine to recent Russian strikes which notably targeted the capital Kyiv.
What there is to know
- Ukraine said to have downed 29 explosive drones out of a total of 31, especially over Kyiv and its region, in a new Russian air attack on the capital, the third in 24 hours;
- Russia claims to have shot down eight Ukrainian drones which targeted Moscow and its region, seeing in this unusual attack a “response” by Ukraine to recent Russian strikes;
- Moscow has reproached the West for their support for Ukraine, which, according to it, is pushing Kyiv to carry out increasingly “irresponsible” attacks;
- Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of seeking to “terrify” the Russian population after an unprecedented drone attack on Moscow, while praising the capital’s anti-aircraft defense, which worked “satisfactorily”;
- Russia has distributed 1.5 million passports to the inhabitants of the regions it occupies in Ukraine, a means for Moscow to strengthen its hold on these territories;
- The image will be strong and loaded with symbols: nearly 50 European leaders are meeting on Thursday in Moldova, a small country which is witnessing the invasion of neighboring Ukraine by the Russian army up close and lives in fear of the maneuvers of destabilization of Moscow.
“It is quite clear that we are talking about a response from the Kyiv regime to our very effective strikes against one of its command centers,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry told reporters. Peskov.
The drone attack on Moscow, the most massive since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, comes after several days of deadly strikes against Kyiv, where one person was still killed overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
If the attack on Moscow caused only two minor injuries and caused “light” damage, according to the authorities, this assault on the Russian capital, which is very protected and far from the front, should have a strong psychological impact in Russia.
According to Mr. Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin was kept “informed live by the Ministry of Defense, the Mayor of Moscow, the Governor of the Moscow region and the Ministry of Emergency Situations”.
“There is no threat to the inhabitants of Moscow and (its) region,” he assured.
All eight drones were neutralized by air defense batteries and electronic warfare means, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Valentin Yemelyanov, who lives in southwest Moscow near one of the impact points, told AFP there was “no panic” in his neighborhood, saying the defense Russian anti-aircraft “works well”.
“It reassures us,” said the fifty-year-old, while claiming not to be “surprised” by this attack because of the escalation of the conflict.
AFP saw a building with several windows shattered and access to which was blocked by a police cordon.
Some evacuated residents were sipping tea at a nearby school while watching an old Soviet film.
PHOTO SERGEI SUPINSKY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kyiv, May 30, 2023
“Massive” strikes on Kyiv
“All the city’s emergency services are on site. […] No one has been seriously injured so far, ”said the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, on Telegram.
This assault on Moscow comes as attacks have multiplied in recent weeks on Russian soil, including a spectacular incursion last week in the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine.
Kyiv, which has said for weeks that it is completing its preparations for a major offensive, has not claimed responsibility for any of these attacks.
Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, assured Tuesday that Ukraine had “no direct link” with the drone attack on Moscow.
PHOTO VALENTYN OGIRENKO, REUTERS
Kyiv, May 30, 2023
Shortly before the announcement of this attack, Ukraine had reported the death of a person in a new wave of “massive attack” targeting Kyiv overnight, for the third time in 24 hours.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 29 Iranian-made explosive drones out of 31 launched, “almost all near the capital and in the skies of Kyiv”.
According to the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, a resident was killed and 11 people were injured in this attack.
On Monday, Russian missiles fell in broad daylight on Kyiv, sowing panic in the streets, after another night of bombing. Many residents had taken refuge in underground shelters, especially in the metro.
PHOTO SERGEI SUPINSKY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kyiv, May 30, 2023
Attacks on the rise
While explosions and the thump of anti-aircraft defenses are now part of everyday life for residents of Kyiv and many regularly bombed Ukrainian cities, attacks on Moscow have been extremely rare since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022.
Images posted on social networks showed traces of smoke in the sky. On others, you could see a window of a broken building.
Witnesses quoted by Russian news agencies claimed that a drone “entered an apartment” located at 14e floor of a residential building, without exploding.
Residents of two buildings that had been evacuated have started returning to their homes, Sobianine said.
PHOTO VIA REUTERS
Kyiv, May 30, 2023
Moscow and its region, located more than 500 km from the Ukrainian border, have so far been very rarely targeted by drone attacks since the start of the conflict, even if this type of attack has multiplied elsewhere in Russia.
In early May, two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, the seat of Russian power, in a spectacular attack blamed on Ukraine.
In recent months, drones have also targeted military bases or energy infrastructure in Russia.