The air defense system protecting Moscow responded normally during the drone attack, but the country’s military leadership still has work to do in this regard. This was expressed by President Vladimir Putin, who commented on the events of the morning of May 30. With a press approach, a video was published by journalist Pavel Zarubin.
“Moscow’s air defense system worked normally and satisfactorily. Although there is work to be done. We faced the same problems at Khmeimim airport in Syria. The areas of our airbase in Syria and Moscow are incomparable, just a huge territory. But in general it is clear what needs to be done to seal the air defense of the capital. We will do it too,” said the president.
According to him, the massive drone attack on the capital was Kiev’s response to the attack of the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters “two or three days ago”.
“The Russian armed forces, which had to respond to the war started by the Ukrainian regime in Donbass, with special military operations, are hitting the Ukrainian lands. But high-precision long-range weapons. That is, for military infrastructure facilities: either for ammunition depots, or [складам с] fuels and lubricants used in combat operations. We have already mentioned the possibilities of strikes in decision-making centers. Of course, the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters, which was attacked two or three days ago, also falls into this category. In response, as you know, the Kiev regime chose a different path – the path of attempts to intimidate Russia, citizens, attacks on residences. “This, of course, is a clear sign of terrorist activity,” said Putin.
Putin stated that he was more interested in the purpose of the drone raid on Moscow than in the fact: he believes that in this way Kiev is trying to provoke a mirrored reaction in Moscow.
“We will see what we will do with it. But the citizens of Ukraine, who can no longer utter a word because of the total terror unleashed against the civilian population in Ukraine, still need to know why. [нас] “It is challenging the current leadership of this country,” said Putin.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, drones attacked Moscow and the Moscow region. According to the official reports of the Ministry of Defense, which described the raid as an act of terrorism, there were a total of eight unmanned aerial vehicles: three of them were disabled by electronic warfare, the remaining five were shot down by the Pantsir-S complex. Explosions were heard in Rublevka, in the Istra, Odintsovo, Krasnogorsk districts of the Moscow region, as well as in the sky south and southwest of Moscow.
Telegram channels wrote that the UAV is actually two or even three times larger, but this information has not received official confirmation. Three drones crashed into residential apartments: on Atlasova Street in New Moscow, on Leninsky Prospekt and on Profsoyuznaya Street. One resident suffered minor shrapnel wounds, no other victims. Some residents were evacuated from the affected homes, after which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said they were allowed to return to their apartments.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, like the head of state, described the attack as Kiev’s response to Sunday’s strikes against Ukrainian decision-making centers.
“It is clear that we are talking about the Kiev regime’s response to our very effective attacks on one of its decision-making centres. This Sunday was a hit. “I cannot say more about this matter,” he said.