2023-05-30 12:53:45
At dawn, Muscovites were awakened by bombs. They are not used to it: the Russian capital was targeted this Tuesday morning by a rare drone attack. A few hours earlier, Russian drones attacked Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, in the night: at least one person died, and two others were injured, according to the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko.
What happened ?
Drones targeted Moscow, the Russian capital, this Tuesday morning at dawn. Several residential buildings and houses were hit, causing “minor” damage, said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Images posted on social networks showed traces of smoke in the sky. On others, you can see a window of a broken building.
No casualties were reported. Two people are slightly injured. “No one has been seriously injured so far,” continues the mayor. According to him, the authorities evacuated the inhabitants of two residential buildings in Moscow, damaged by the drones. They “will be able to return to their apartments as soon as the special services have finished their work,” said the mayor of the Russian capital.
How did Russia react?
For his part, the governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, claimed that several drones had been shot down on the approach to the capital. “This morning, residents of some districts of the Moscow region could hear the sound of explosions, it was our air defense system,” he wrote on Telegram. He called on residents to “keep their cool”: “All the emergency services are doing their job. »
Later in the morning, the Ministry of Defense specifies that “eight drones” attacked Moscow, and that all were neutralized with anti-aircraft defense batteries and electronic warfare means. Russia has accused kyiv of a “terrorist attack”.
The Kremlin, however, assured that there was “no threat” for the Muscovites. “It is quite clear that we are talking about a response from the Kiev regime to our very effective strikes against one of its command centers,” said its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, during an interview. a press conference.
Why is this attack surprising?
The city of Moscow has so far been very rarely targeted by drone attacks since the start of the conflict. The geographical remoteness of the capital makes it difficult to attempt an attack: the capital and its region are located more than 1,000 km from Ukraine.
Despite everything, this type of attack has multiplied, in Moscow as elsewhere in Russia. Last week, the country suffered a spectacular incursion into the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine. In early May, the Russian government shot down two drones, accusing Ukraine of targeting the Kremlin, and denouncing an assassination attempt on Putin. kyiv has not claimed responsibility for any of these attacks.
This Tuesday, this attack on Moscow looks like a Ukrainian response: during the night, an attack by Russian drones left at least one dead and several injured in kyiv. Earlier in the day on Monday, Russian strikes in broad daylight had caused panic in the Ukrainian capital, attacked on multiple occasions since the beginning of May.
#War #Ukraine #drone #attack #Moscow