An apartment building that was reportedly damaged by a Ukrainian drone. © Uncredited/AP
According to Russian sources, there have been drone attacks in Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defense is now blaming Ukraine. However, it does not provide any evidence.
Moscow - Russia has blamed Ukraine for the drone attacks on Moscow - and spoke of an "act of terrorism". "This morning, the Kyiv regime committed an act of terrorism with unmanned aerial vehicles on objects belonging to the city of Moscow," the Russian Defense Ministry said. A total of eight drones were used, all of which have now been destroyed. Three were deviated from their original trajectory, the remaining five were shot down by Russian anti-aircraft defenses, it said.
Moscow did not provide any evidence for the accusations. There was initially no reaction from Ukraine, against which Russia has been waging a war of aggression for more than 15 months.
Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that his city had been attacked by drones in the early hours of the morning. Some residential buildings were slightly damaged and two people were slightly injured, he wrote. On social networks, there was talk of allegedly about 25 unmanned aerial vehicles, which are said to have flown in the direction of Moscow.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, declares that the air defense was active: "On the approach to Moscow, some drones were shot down." Photos and videos of a column of smoke were shared on social networks. According to unconfirmed reports from Russian Telegram channels, a total of around 25 unmanned aerial vehicles are said to have flown in, the majority of which were repelled.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for more than 15 months. In recent 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 above the Kremlin. Moscow blamed the leadership in Kiev for the alleged assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin, which denied any involvement. Many international observers believe it is likely that the Kremlin attack could have been orchestrated by Moscow itself to justify the brutal attacks on Ukraine. Dpa