At least two residential buildings in Moscow were hit by drones on Tuesday morning, the city's mayor said, adding that no one was seriously harmed.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed that Ukraine was behind the incident, which it described as a “terrorist attack," while Kyiv denied any involvement. The Russian defense ministry claimed eight drones were used in the strike and that they were able to jam three of them while shooting down the other five with missiles and artillery.
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“Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control, and deviated from their intended targets," a statement said. “Another five UAVs were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region.”
Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian Parliament from President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, said the attack represents “a new reality we will have to recognize.” He added: "Undoubtedly, sabotage and terrorist attacks by Ukraine will only grow. We need to drastically strengthen defense and security measures, especially in the area of countering drones.”
Putin condemned Ukraine for the strike, claiming its intent was to “intimidate Russian citizens,” according to state media outlet RIA.
"As you know, the Kyiv regime chose a different path, the path of attempts to intimidate Russia, intimidate Russian citizens, and strike residential buildings. This, of course, is a clear sign of terrorist activity," he said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied Ukrainian involvement in the strikes.
“Of course, we enjoy watching and predicting an increase in attacks. But of course, we have nothing to do directly with it,” Podolyak told the Breakfast Show YouTube channel.
Also on Tuesday, Russia launched air strikes toward Kyiv, killing at least one person. Ukraine has had some recent success using weapons systems provided by the United States and other Western allies to block Russian aerial attacks.
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The attack on Moscow could have been carried out by the Ukrainian military and intelligence community, which have conducted operations inside Russian territory. Russia launched a “counter-terror operation” in the Belgorod region last week, following a pair of pro-Ukraine militias claiming to “liberate” border towns from Putin's control.
The group may have been responsible for the drone attack against the Kremlin in early May, according to the New York Times, which cited anonymous U.S. officials. Publicly, U.S. officials and agencies have declined to confirm whether they believe Ukraine is responsible, though they have reiterated their stance that they don't want Ukraine using weapons provided by them against targets within Russian territory.