Russian air defences stopped eight drones converging on Moscow, officials said Tuesday, in an attack that authorities blamed on Ukraine, while Russia continued a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardment of Kyiv that began Monday.
The Russian defence ministry said five drones were shot down and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. It called the incident a "terrorist attack" by the "Kyiv regime."
The attack caused "insignificant damage" to several buildings, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Two people received medical attention for unspecified injuries but did not need hospitalization, he said in a Telegram post.
Residents of two highrise buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, said some of the drones were "shot down on the approach to Moscow."
Ukraine made no immediate comment on the attack, which would be one of its deepest and most daring strikes into Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 15 months ago.
The White House National Security Council said in a statement that it was still gathering information about what happened in Moscow, but generally "we do not support attacks inside of Russia."
It noted that Russia's bombardment of Kyiv was the 17th round of attacks this month, "many of which have devastated civilian areas."
'An intimidation act'
The attacks have raised questions about the effectiveness of Russia's air defence systems.
A senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, told Russian business news site RBC that "we have a very big country and there will always be a loophole where the drone can fly around the areas where air defence systems are located." Kartapolov said the purpose of the attacks was to unnerve the Russian people.
"It's an intimidation act aimed at the civilian population," RBC quoted him as saying. "It's designed to create a wave of panic."
Moscow residents reported hearing explosions before dawn. Police were seen working at one site of a crashed drone in southwest Moscow. An area near a residential building was fenced off, and police put the drone debris in a cardboard box before carrying it away.
At another site, apartment windows were shattered and there were scorch marks on the building's front. It was the second reported attack on Moscow. Russian authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin earlier this month in what they portrayed as an attempt on President Vladimir Putin's life.
Ukrainian drones have reportedly flown deep into Russia several times. In December, Russia claimed it had shot down drones at airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions. Three soldiers were reported killed in the attack in Saratov, which targeted an important military airfield.
Ukrainian military analysts, though unable to confirm Kyiv had launched the drones against Moscow, said the attack may have involved UJ-22 drones, which are produced in Ukraine and have a maximum range of about 1,000 kilometres.
Analyst Oleh Zhdanov said some UJ-22s are capable of reaching "Moscow and beyond," although he noted they can fly only half as far and carry half the payload of the Iranian-made Shahed drones used in the war by Russia.
At least 1 dead in Ukrainian capital
Earlier, Russia reported shooting down a Ukrainian drone that targeted the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea. In Ukraine, Russia launched a predawn air raid on Kyiv, killing at least one person and sending the capital's residents again scrambling into shelters.
At least 20 Shahed explosive drones were destroyed by air defence forces in Kyiv's airspace in Russia's third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to early information from the Kyiv Military Administration. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of 31 drones fired into the country, most in the Kyiv area, the air force later said.
Before daylight, the buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defence systems.
In the overnight attacks on Kyiv, one person died and seven were injured, according to the municipal military administration. A high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire after being hit by debris either from drones being hit or interceptor missiles.
The building's upper two floors were destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, the Kyiv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated. Resident Valeriya Oreshko told The Associated Press in the aftermath that even though the immediate threat was over, the attacks had everyone on edge.
"You are happy that you are alive, but think about what will happen next," the 39-year-old said.
A resident who gave only her first name, Oksana, said the whole building shook when it was hit.
"Go to shelters, because you really do not know where it [the drone] will fly," she advised others. "We hold on."
Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in Darnytskyi district and three cars were set alight in Pechersky district, according to the military administration.
Moscow hit with drone attack Kremlin blames on Ukraine - CBC News
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