Drones hit residential areas of Moscow on Monday for the first time in the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian authorities say.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that eight drones targeted the city; five were shot down, and the other three had their systems jammed, according to The New York Times. The reported attack came after days of drones and missile strikes across Ukraine and concentrated on its capital city of Kyiv.
Ukraine denied ordering the attack on Moscow. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Kyiv was not “directly involved,” but Podolyak said Ukraine was “happy” to watch.
Russian forces shot down some drones over Moscow’s Rublyovka district, where many of the city’s business and political elites have homes, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nobody was killed in the attack, Russia said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Putin blamed Ukraine for the strike and accused it of “terrorist activity.” The Russian president said Kyiv is “provoking us to respond with tit-for-tat measures” and “scaring Russian citizens and hitting residential buildings.” He vowed to retaliate, according to the Financial Times.
Over the weekend, Ukraine was reportedly shelled by Shahed suicide drones sent to Russia by Iran. The strikes hit all across Ukraine but focused heavily on Kyiv. Dozens of drones and missiles were aimed at targets in and around the capital.
Ukraine’s air defense shot down 52 of 54 drones that dropped across the country. Forty of those targeted Kyiv, and the downed devices caused light damage and set fires across the city. One person died from falling debris, Ukraine said.
Unlike Kyiv, Russia’s capital city has avoided almost any direct damage and destruction from the war with Ukraine. Moscow was given its first taste of war in early May when two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, causing negligible damage to buildings. At the time, Putin blamed the U. and Ukraine for attempting an assassination mission to kill the Russian president.
Both countries denied involvement.
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“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow,” said Zelensky at the time.
“We fight on our territory, we are defending our villages and cities. We don’t have enough weapon[s] for this. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere [else],” he said. “We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to tribunal,” he said.