Vladimir Putin vows revenge for drone attack on Moscow

Vladimir Putin has vowed to retaliate against what he claims are Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, which exposed Russia’s growing vulnerability to a blow from its own aggression.

The Russian president accused Ukraine of “terrorist activity” and called on “us to respond with tit-for-tat measures” after Tuesday morning’s attack on residential areas in the Russian capital aimed at “intimidating and killing Russian citizens”. Was. residential building”.

Although Putin did not specify how Russia would respond and claimed that Russia did not attack civilian targets in Ukraine, he made his first reference for several months to a possible nuclear escalation of the war, following the accident at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. accused of causing In occupied Zaporizhia or use a dirty bomb.

The claims, first made last autumn, sparked fears in the West that Russia could use the allegations as a pretext for its own nuclear use as its battlefield situation worsens.

Putin said that Russia’s anti-air defense had proved “satisfactory” but that “there is still work to be done,” adding that Russia had taken measures to support Bashar al-Assad’s government in the Syrian war. Similar problems were experienced at Hmeimim airport during the .

The drone attacks came as Russia launched another wave of airstrikes on Kiev, killing at least one person, hospitalizing others and forcing the evacuation of a high-rise building – Ukrainian Fourth attack on the capital in three days.

Such attacks have become a regular occurrence in Kiev since Russia began targeting civilian infrastructure with massive airstrikes last autumn. Ukraine’s military launched its 17th assault on the capital on Tuesday, its 17th in May, after shooting down dozens of ballistic cruise missiles and drones over Kiev in the early hours of Sunday and Monday.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said NATO-grade air defense systems, including the US-made Patriot system, had been used to defend the capital in recent days. A reporter for the Financial Times saw the Patriot system shoot down a missile during rush hour on Monday morning. Debris from several missiles fell on the buildings and streets of the capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people suffered minor injuries after multiple drones crashed into residential buildings in the city’s southwest.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukraine used eight drones in the attack, but none hit their targets. He claimed that Russia had shot down five drones outside Moscow with the Pantsir anti-aircraft system and forced the other three to crash after their control systems jammed.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, which would mark one of its biggest drone attacks on Russia since the start of the war and showcase Kiev’s growing capabilities behind enemy lines in Russia.

According to Ukrainian officials, Kiev has launched a campaign aimed at instilling fear and weakening Russian forces ahead of a possible retaliatory strike.

The UK has defended Ukraine’s right to “project force” beyond its borders on the grounds of self-defense.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “Legitimate military targets beyond its border are part of Ukraine’s self-defense.”

Videos on social media showed drones flying over the Russian capital, with one exploding over Rubyovka, a wealthy suburb of Russia’s political elite. Others showed damage after three drones crashed into residential buildings.

Riber, a popular pro-war blogger on the social media app Telegram, wrote, “If the goal of the attack was to stress the population, then the fact of Ukrainian drones appearing in the sky over Moscow has already done enough.”

The attacks in Russia have brought the reality of the war to the fore in a capital that had remained largely untouched by its effects.

Earlier in May, two drones attacked the Kremlin in a daring nighttime raid, one blasting directly over its medieval onion domes and the other crashing into a building.

Two Ukraine-backed militias led by anti-Putin neo-Nazis from Russia also launched a brief cross-border offensive last week.

Experts have said that given the small drones used and their different directions, the attack is likely to be launched from near Moscow.

But pro-war Russian commentators, citing video footage and photographs of the fragments, suggested Ukraine could have launched the drones from the central and eastern border regions, from where Moscow retreated after a humiliating defeat last year.

“This once again raises the issue of whether it was appropriate to pull our troops out of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions a year ago and leave a buffer zone north of Kharkiv,” Raiber wrote. “It also raises questions about our reconnaissance in the border areas and enemy activity in those areas.”

Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London

Vladimir Putin has vowed to retaliate against what he claims are Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, which exposed Russia’s growing vulnerability to a blow from its own aggression.

The Russian president accused Ukraine of “terrorist activity” and called on “us to respond with tit-for-tat measures” after Tuesday morning’s attack on residential areas in the Russian capital aimed at “intimidating and killing Russian citizens”. Was. residential building”.

Although Putin did not specify how Russia would respond and claimed that Russia did not attack civilian targets in Ukraine, he made his first reference for several months to a possible nuclear escalation of the war, following the accident at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. accused of causing In occupied Zaporizhia or use a dirty bomb.

The claims, first made last autumn, sparked fears in the West that Russia could use the allegations as a pretext for its own nuclear use as its battlefield situation worsens.

Putin said that Russia’s anti-air defense had proved “satisfactory” but that “there is still work to be done,” adding that Russia had taken measures to support Bashar al-Assad’s government in the Syrian war. Similar problems were experienced at Hmeimim airport during the .

The drone attacks came as Russia launched another wave of airstrikes on Kiev, killing at least one person, hospitalizing others and forcing the evacuation of a high-rise building – Ukrainian Fourth attack on the capital in three days.

Such attacks have become a regular occurrence in Kiev since Russia began targeting civilian infrastructure with massive airstrikes last autumn. Ukraine’s military launched its 17th assault on the capital on Tuesday, its 17th in May, after shooting down dozens of ballistic cruise missiles and drones over Kiev in the early hours of Sunday and Monday.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said NATO-grade air defense systems, including the US-made Patriot system, had been used to defend the capital in recent days. A reporter for the Financial Times saw the Patriot system shoot down a missile during rush hour on Monday morning. Debris from several missiles fell on the buildings and streets of the capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people suffered minor injuries after multiple drones crashed into residential buildings in the city’s southwest.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukraine used eight drones in the attack, but none hit their targets. He claimed that Russia had shot down five drones outside Moscow with the Pantsir anti-aircraft system and forced the other three to crash after their control systems jammed.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, which would mark one of its biggest drone attacks on Russia since the start of the war and showcase Kiev’s growing capabilities behind enemy lines in Russia.

According to Ukrainian officials, Kiev has launched a campaign aimed at instilling fear and weakening Russian forces ahead of a possible retaliatory strike.

The UK has defended Ukraine’s right to “project force” beyond its borders on the grounds of self-defense.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “Legitimate military targets beyond its border are part of Ukraine’s self-defense.”

Videos on social media showed drones flying over the Russian capital, with one exploding over Rubyovka, a wealthy suburb of Russia’s political elite. Others showed damage after three drones crashed into residential buildings.

Riber, a popular pro-war blogger on the social media app Telegram, wrote, “If the goal of the attack was to stress the population, then the fact of Ukrainian drones appearing in the sky over Moscow has already done enough.”

The attacks in Russia have brought the reality of the war to the fore in a capital that had remained largely untouched by its effects.

Earlier in May, two drones attacked the Kremlin in a daring nighttime raid, one blasting directly over its medieval onion domes and the other crashing into a building.

Two Ukraine-backed militias led by anti-Putin neo-Nazis from Russia also launched a brief cross-border offensive last week.

Experts have said that given the small drones used and their different directions, the attack is likely to be launched from near Moscow.

But pro-war Russian commentators, citing video footage and photographs of the fragments, suggested Ukraine could have launched the drones from the central and eastern border regions, from where Moscow retreated after a humiliating defeat last year.

“This once again raises the issue of whether it was appropriate to pull our troops out of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions a year ago and leave a buffer zone north of Kharkiv,” Raiber wrote. “It also raises questions about our reconnaissance in the border areas and enemy activity in those areas.”

Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London