Putin Slams Ukraine As Attack Drones Hit Moscow High-rises
Faizan Hashmi Published May 31, 2023 | 02:10 AM
Moscow, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st May, 2023 ) :President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Kyiv of seeking to "frighten" Russians after drones hit Moscow high-rises in the first such attack since the beginning of the Kremlin's assault on Ukraine.
As drones struck in and around Moscow, Russian drones targeted Kyiv for a third straight day while Ukraine gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces.
Officials said no one was seriously injured in Moscow and there was only "minor" damage to residential buildings, but some locals said they never thought the Russian capital could be hit in this way.
"I somehow thought that all of this was somewhere far away, that this would not affect us, and suddenly this has become very close," pensioner Tatyana Kalinina told AFP in southwest Moscow near one of the damaged residential buildings.
Putin said that Moscow's air defence had worked, referring to the attacks as Kyiv's "response" to a Russian strike on Ukraine's army intelligence headquarters.
"The Kyiv regime chose a different path to frighten Russians," Putin said.
The Russian defence ministry said that eight drones were used in the attack, adding that five of them were downed and three disabled.
The foreign ministry blamed the West, saying its "support for the Kyiv regime is pushing the Ukrainian leadership towards increasingly reckless acts, including terrorism." One person was also killed Tuesday in a Ukrainian bombardment on a centre for displaced people in the border region of Belgorod, the regional governor said.
The Belgorod region has in recent weeks been hit by dozens strikes from across the border and seen attempted incursions from armed groups.
- Major embarrassment - The United States said it did not support attacks inside Russia.
"We have been focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory," a State Department spokesperson said.
Two drones crashed into high-rise residential buildings in Moscow's affluent southwest, while a third damaged a residential building in a suburb.
The other drones fell outside Moscow. Some of the debris was found around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence.
One video shared on social media showed an explosion followed by a column of smoke rising into the sky.
This month two drones were intercepted over the Kremlin, but Tuesday's attacks were the first time that unmanned aerial vehicles hit residential areas of Moscow, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine.
The raids are likely to be seen as a major embarrassment for the Kremlin, which has gone to great lengths to say the protracted conflict in Ukraine does not pose a threat to Russians.
- 'Not surprised' - Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Kyiv had "no direct relation" to the attacks.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people had sought medical assistance but "no one has suffered serious injuries".
The residents of buildings damaged in the strikes were briefly evacuated.
On Profsoyuznaya Street, a residential building with a blown-out window was cordoned off by police but the atmosphere was calm, with children playing outside and people walking their dogs, an AFP correspondent said.
Some of the residents were moved to a nearby school, where they drank tea and watched a Soviet-era movie.
Muscovites told Russian journalists that a drone had also crashed into an apartment on the 14th floor of a high-rise on Leninsky Prospekt but did not explode.
Ukraine said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage -- the third on the Ukrainian capital in 24 hours.
On Monday, Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv, sending panicked residents running for shelter in an unusual daytime attack following overnight strikes.
Predictably, many in Ukraine gloated over the drone attacks in Moscow.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Muscovites should feel "what it means to live in the conditions that Kyiv has lived in for the past one and a half years."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
Musadik slams PTI's political approach as provocative
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Collective efforts vital to eradicate drugs addiction
15 hours ago -
Concerted efforts urged to ease traffic flow on city roads
6 days ago -
Land degradation: A threat to food security
6 days ago -
Revamping health sector, a gigantic task ahead
6 days ago -
American band promotes intercultural harmony thru music fusions
6 days ago -
Waste Management – A persistent challenge for MWMC
8 days ago
-
Experts for ending child labour
9 days ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
10 days ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
12 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
13 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
13 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
13 days ago