2023-07-24 22:32:35
Kiev’s unusual claim came after Putin’s troops bombed Odessa over the weekend; at least two people died and a cathedral was destroyed
EKATERINA ANISIMOVA / AFP City officials remove a broken glass window at the site of a reported drone strike on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow on July 24
Ukraine confirmed this Monday, 24, to be the author of a night attack, carried out with drones, which hit Moscowthe capital of Russia. A Ukrainian defense source, who requested anonymity, said the attack on Moscow was “a special operation by the GUR”, Ukraine’s military intelligence services. One of the artifacts fell on a major highway in the Russian capital, Komsomolsky Prospekt, near the Ministry of Defense. This unusual claim by Kiev comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to take reprisals against Russian bombings in Odessa over the weekend, that left two dead and destroyed a cathedral. Russia, for its part, has warned that it plans to take “severe reprisals” after these attacks in Moscow and others in Crimea, Russian diplomacy declared, accusing Western powers of being “behind the brazen acts” of Kiev. The Moscow region has not been attacked by drones for almost three weeks. The Russian army, which denounced a “terrorist act”, said that two Ukrainian drones were neutralized and crashed without causing casualties.
Moscow and its region, located more than 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, have already been attacked by drones on other occasions. In May, one such attack hit the Kremlin. On July 4, five drones were shot down in the Moscow region, according to officials. The attack disrupted the operation of Vnukovo International Airport. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday that “measures” had been taken to defend Moscow and that “all drones” had been shot down. This attack in Moscow adds to those registered a week ago in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow, and in southern Ukraine, where tensions have worsened after Russia decided, last Monday, to withdraw from an agreement that allows the export of Ukrainian grains through the Black Sea. In Crimea, a Ukrainian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in the Dzhankoi district in the north of the annexed peninsula, Russian Governor Sergei Asksionov said on Monday. According to the Russian army, 14 Ukrainian drones were neutralized in Crimea by jamming teams and another three by anti-aircraft defense.
It was not just the Russian side that was attacked on Monday. Vladimir Putin’s troops attacked, for “almost four hours”, a Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Odessa region and destroyed a grain silo, the Ukrainian army said on Monday. Kiev said on Monday it had taken more than 16km2 from Russian forces last week in the east and south of the country, nearly two months into its counter-offensive. President Uelensky promised “reprisals” for the shots of “19 Russian missiles” against Odessa, whose historic center was included at the beginning of the year on the list of World Heritage Sites by Unesco. The port city, a frequent target of Russian bombings, was attacked early on Sunday. Two people died and 22 others were injured, including at least four children. The Transfiguration Cathedral was badly damaged, some of its walls collapsed, and several icons were set on fire. The temple, which opened more than 200 years ago, was destroyed by the Soviets in 1936 and rebuilt in the early 2000s. Twenty-five monuments were damaged by bombing on Sunday, according to regional governor Oleg Kiper. Russia ensures that it only carries out attacks against military sites.
*With international agencies
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