Mayor reports drone attacks on Moscow
Russia's capital Moscow has been attacked by drones, according to Mayor Sobyanin. There was damage to buildings. The Ministry of Defense blames Ukraine and speaks of a terrorist attack.
According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow was attacked with drones. “As a result of a drone attack early this morning, some buildings suffered minor damage,” he wrote on Telegram. No one was “seriously injured”.
Residents were brought to safety, security forces are on duty. The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said the air defenses were active: “Several drones were shot down while approaching Moscow.” According to unconfirmed reports from Russian Telegram channels, a total of around 25 unmanned missiles are said to have flown in, most of which were repelled.
Photos and videos of a column of smoke were shared on social networks. BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg also reported impacts on Twitter.
Moscow blames Kyiv
According to the mayor, the background is still being determined. The Russian Defense Ministry accuses Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” on Moscow. It said Ukraine fired eight drones at Moscow, but all drones involved in the incident were shot down.”
Three of the drones were knocked out by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets, according to the ministry. Another five drones were shot down by a surface-to-air missile system.
Drone attacks have increased in recent weeks
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for more than 15 months. In the past few weeks, shelling and drone attacks have also increased in Russian regions.
Probably the most spectacular incident occurred in early May when two flying objects were shot down directly over the Kremlin. Moscow blamed the leadership in Kiev for the alleged attempted assassination of President Vladimir Putin, which denied any involvement. Many international observers think it likely that the Kremlin attack may have been staged by Moscow itself to justify the brutal attacks on Ukraine.
Russian drone strikes on Kyiv
The latest attack followed a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev earlier in the night that left at least one person dead, according to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Russian shelling in the middle of the day on Monday caused panic in the Ukrainian capital.
Russia accuses Ukraine of “terrorist attack”
Russia has accused Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” on the capital Moscow. “Eight drones were used in the attack,” Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. “All enemy drones have been shot down.”
It is currently unclear who is responsible for the drone attack (compare entry from 6.44 a.m.). Observers, such as analyst Olga Lautman from the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), also believe it is possible that the Russian side itself is responsible.
LONDON: Russia’s military spending weighs on government finances
According to British intelligence experts, Russian government finances are under pressure from military spending. This emerges from the daily intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday.
According to the Stockholm peace research institute Sipri, Russia’s defense spending in 2022 amounted to 4.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. How much Moscow actually spends on its armed forces is highly uncertain due to a lack of transparency. “It is almost certain that military spending will continue to increase and this is putting pressure on Russian government finances,” the statement said.
One dead in Kiev after Russian attack
One person died in the night Russian drone attack on Kiev. Fragments of the drones shot down by anti-aircraft guns fell into a residential building, among other things, killing a civilian, and an elderly woman was taken to a hospital, the Ukrinform state agency reported, citing the city administration and Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. The block of flats caught fire. The search work is still ongoing, as there may still be people trapped under the rubble.
