Russia’s capital Moscow was hit by an early morning drone attack in which at least eight drones caused damage. Several drones fell on an exclusive western suburb of Moscow where senior Russian officials live.
The strikes on Moscow followed an overnight drone attack on the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv in which at least one person died. Falling debris set buildings in Kyiv on fire, but most drones aimed at Kyiv were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses, which shot down two dozen Russian drones.
Russia claimed it intercepted eight drones from Ukraine. “Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets. Another five drones were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region,” its defense ministry claimed.
The drone attacks struck some of Moscow’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Areas struck included Leninsky Prospekt, a grand boulevard constructed under longtime Soviet dictator Stalin.
Drones also hit a suburb of western Moscow where Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has a residence. Other members of the Russian elite also live there.
Russian media reported that as many as three dozen drones reached Moscow. City officials have said several of them fell on buildings after being downed.
Residents in some buildings were temporarily evacuated. At least two people were taken to the hospital with injuries.
An aide to Russian President Putin, Dmitry Peskov, claimed that Moscow’s air defenses had responded well to the drone attack.
However, Russia’s air defense systems are in need of modernization, according to a member of Russia’s parliament.
The drone attacks on Moscow were a complete surprise to residents, who received no warning that an attack was about to occur.
Russia’s radar was unable to detect the drones and trigger the air raid alarm because they were flying very low, a former military officer claimed. He said Russia should develop air defense systems that can see drones at very low altitudes.
Three drones were shot down over Moscow’s exclusive Rublyovka suburb, according to a Russian politician. That suburb is a network of exclusive gated communities in the forests west of the capital. It is where many of Russia’s business, political and cultural elite live.
One zone affected by the drone attack is a short distance from Novo-Ogaryovo, a suburb that is the location of a home owned by Russian President Putin, that is thought to be the residence where he spends more time than in any of his other mansions and palaces. Other residents of that suburb include former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The drone attacks on Moscow followed massive Russian air attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. On May 28, Russia mounted two waves of air attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, killing at least one person and wounding another.
Kyiv’s air defense systems shot down at least 40 drones moving towards the city early that day, with falling debris killing a 41-year-old man and wounding a young woman.
“Stay in shelters. The attack is massive!” Kyiv’s mayor told residents.
The pre-dawn attacks occurred on the day when the city celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of the city’s founding 1,541 years ago.
Attacks targeted Kyiv’s historical Pecherskyi neighborhood.
As air raid sirens went off soon after midnight, some people stood on their balconies, screaming invective against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin or chanting “Glory to air defense” mantras.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive about to begin more than a year into the war, Moscow has stepped up its missile and drone attacks this month after a lull of over 50 days. Waves of attacks now occur several times per week.
In the tree-lined Holosiivskyi district in southwestern Kyiv, falling debris on Sunday set a warehouse on fire, destroying over 11,000 square feet of buildings.
A fire broke out after falling drone debris ignited a seven-story office building in the Solomyanskyi district west of the city. That area is a busy rail and air transport hub.
In the Pecherskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of an apartment building because of dropping drone debris.
Russia’s war with Ukraine is not going as well as it hoped. Its ground offensive has come to a halt after occupying the ruins of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. And it actually lost control of a village in Russia near the border with Ukraine, to an anti-Putin militia.
