Russia said on Monday it had neutralized two Ukrainian drones in Moscow overnight, one of which crashed near the defence ministry. The outskirts of the Russian capital have not been bombed for about three weeks.
(RFI) The offensive, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry, was a “special operation”. The Ukrainian government has promised retaliation for Russian attacks in Odessa in the south of the country this weekend that left two dead and destroyed the Transfiguration Cathedral.
“Two Ukrainian drones were neutralized and destroyed. There are no casualties,” the Russian defence ministry said on Monday, accusing Kiev of having organized a “terrorist act.”
According to the Tass public agency, one of them crashed on Komsomolsky Prospekt avenue, near the ministry’s headquarters, where fragments were found.
The drone also hit the roof of a building, as well as cars, fire trucks and an ambulance. The area was cordoned off by the authorities. In the same attack, another drone crashed into the business center located on Likhatcheva Street.
The RIA Novosti press agency broadcast images from the site, where damage is visible. The street leading to the area was also closed. According to Moscow Mayor Serguei Sobianine, the attack hit office buildings, i.e. non-residential ones, at around 1 a.m. local time.
Ukraine had vowed to respond to the attack this weekend on the cathedral, founded more than 200 years ago. It was destroyed by the Soviets in 1936 and rebuilt in the early 2000s. Twenty-five monuments suffered damage, according to regional governor Oleg Kiper. Russia says it targeted only military targets.
Moscow and its region are situated more than 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and have already been targeted by several drone attacks. One hit the Kremlin in May.
On July 4, Russia said it shot down five in the Moscow region. The attack left no casualties or damage, but disrupted traffic at Vnoukovo airport, one of three in the capital. Tensions between the two countries have grown following the end of an agreement in July on the export of Ukrainian grain in the North Sea.
Crimea and Odessa targeted by new attacks
In Crimea, a new attack on Monday hit an ammunition depot in the northern district of Djankoi, according to Russian governor Sergueï Asksionov.
According to him, eleven drones were shot down. The local population has been temporarily evacuated in a five-kilometer radius around the depot and the movement of trains in this district has been suspended.
A new Russian attack with Shahed-136 drones also hit a port in the Odessa region and destroyed a grain depot, according to the Ukrainian army.
White House says it does not support Ukraine attacks on Russian territory
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said it does not support attacks by Ukraine inside Russian territory, after two Ukrainian drones damaged buildings in Moscow on Monday morning.
“Generally speaking, we do not support attacks inside Russia,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news briefing.
Russia has vowed to take tough retaliatory measures against Ukraine, calling the two drone strikes, one of them near the Defense Ministry headquarters, a brazen act of terror.
“This is a war that Russia started. This is their war,” Jean-Pierre said. “And they can end it at any time by withdrawing forces from Ukraine instead of carrying out brutal attacks on civilians.”
No one was hurt in the Moscow attack — the most significant of its kind since two drones struck the Kremlin in May.
One of the drones hit a site near Russia’s defense headquarters in a symbolic blow that highlighted the drones’ reach, and a senior Ukrainian official said there would be more strikes.
Meanwhile, Kiev said on Monday that a Russian drone strike destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube river and wounded seven people.