The major drone strike on the Russian capital on Monday sparked anger and wrangling among government officials over responsibility for hitting the country's largest city. The commander of the Wagner Force mercenary company, who is close to President Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, lashed out at the heads of the Russian Defense Ministry in harsh language.
"You stinky scum, what are you doing? Get your ass out of the offices they put you in to defend our country. You are the Ministry of Defense! You did everything you could to get ahead, why are you allowing these drones to reach Moscow? The fact that they managed to fly them over your houses in the Rubylovka neighborhood, damn it, let them burn down your houses. What are ordinary citizens supposed to do when drones loaded with explosives crash into their homes?" asked Prigozhin in a recorded clip released hours after the incident.
Russian media reports on the drone attack in Moscow // Photo: Reuters
Moscow's political establishment initially reacted defensively. The chairman of the Duma's security committee, the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, said after the incident: "The Ukrainians managed to attack us because we have a huge country. Given the size of our country, there will always be loopholes in our defense that a drone can fly through, around areas where our air defense systems are located. So there's no reason to panic." On the other hand, the deputy spokesman of the Duma, Alexei Nilov, responded to the attack with a sharp threat: "All our tactical nuclear weapons will not sit in the warehouse for much longer. This is a new round, initiated by the Führer of the Ukrainian Reich."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu also responded to the incident with a speech that included mainly claims about the achievements of the Russian army in Ukraine: "During the last 29 hours we destroyed another Patriot battery. During the past month, our air defense systems destroyed 16 Storm Duo cruise missiles. In addition, 000,400 Ukrainian troops, 16 tanks, 5 aircraft and <> helicopters were destroyed during the month of May." There is no evidence for Shoigu's figures, and official figures provided by Moscow on Ukrainian losses in the war often prove illogical or false.
A residential building damaged in the drone strike on Moscow, Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, Russia attacked again with Iranian-made drones in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after a drone struck a residential building in the Ukrainian capital overnight, injuring 12 people. At least five of those injured were hospitalized in moderate to serious condition.
More than 30 drones, apparently Ukrainian-made, struck the Russian capital Moscow this morning, damaging at least two residential buildings. According to Russian media reports, a drone strike also took place in the Rublovka neighborhood, a neighborhood where some of Russia's wealthiest people and members of the ruling elite live. Footage posted on social media showed a drone passing at low altitude over several villas in the neighborhood.
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