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Drones Strike Moscow as War Between Ukraine and Russia Heats Up

moscow-drone-attack-apt-building.jpg RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-STRIKES-DRONE - Credit: Kirill Kudrayavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
moscow-drone-attack-apt-building.jpg RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-STRIKES-DRONE - Credit: Kirill Kudrayavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

At least eight drones hit apartment buildings and residential areas in Moscow as the spring offensive in the war between Ukraine and Russia is heating up.

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the attacks on Ukraine and downplayed their significance, telling a reporter that he was “not so much worried about this” and that it was an “attempt to provoke a response from Russia.”

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It’s unclear whether the buildings struck by the drones represented their intended targets or whether they impacted after crashing or being shot down by Russian forces. Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have jammed or shot down all eight of the aircraft.

The assault represents a reversal for Russia, which has been largely untouched by the conflict as Russian forces pummel Ukrainian cities with cruise missiles and Iranian-made drones.

Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for the blitz but wreckage pulled from the offensive is consistent with drones previously seen in Ukrainian strikes in Russia, according to the Ukraine Weapons Tracker, which monitors arms used in the conflict. Drone wreckage visible in photos of the impact sites bore striking similarities to Ukrainian drones used in attacks in Tula and against an oil refinery in Krasnodar, Russia.

The attacks come as Kyiv’s forces have increasingly been able to carry out strikes on Russian soil. In late 2022, Ukraine’s military struck Russia’s Engels airbase with upgraded Tu-141 Strizh target drones left in the country’s arsenals after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In early May, two small drones armed with explosives slipped through Moscow’s air defenses and attacked the Kremlin, damaging a flagpole on top of the Kremlin senate building. Russian officials quickly claimed the assault was an assassination attempt against Putin and blamed the United States. However, American intelligence sources later told The New York Times that Ukrainian military intelligence was likely behind the attacks, according to intercepted communications.

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