Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened retaliation after what he claims were drone strikes by the Ukrainian government against Moscow. Putin has said that Kyiv is conducting “terrorist activity” and is “provoking” them and causing them to respond with “tit-for-tat measures.”
According to the Russian government, several buildings were damaged early Tuesday morning when at least eight armed Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow area.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims five drones were successfully shot down, and another three were electronically jammed during the attack. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, claims that the “terrorist attack” caused relatively minimal damage to a handful of buildings and that no casualties were reported.
Putin did not specify Moscow’s response to the strikes or what they might be, but he did say that Russia has never intentionally attacked Ukrainian people or civilian infrastructure. When Putin accused Ukraine of plotting to attack a nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia, he also alluded to the potential of nuclear engagement.
The Russian president has said that the Ukrainian government deliberately intimidates Russia and the Russian people and attacks “civilian buildings.” They see this as evidence of terrorist activities, so Moscow will now beef up its air defenses.
A prominent advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, has denied that Ukraine was involved in the drone strike but has predicted that further assaults will follow, saying, “We are pleased to watch events.”
Moscow was attacked during sustained Russian warfare on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Ihor Klymenko, the temporary minister of internal affairs in Ukraine, has stated that four people were killed and another 34 were injured due to the attack on the country.
Estimates published by the Ukrainian armed forces place the number of Russian military fatalities and casualties at around 207,000 since the conflict began.
