Putin blames Ukraine for Moscow drone attack and says Kyiv is trying to ‘scare and provoke’
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by 0 Russia’s Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine is trying to scare and provoke Moscow after it blamed it for a drone attack in the capital.
Officials said minor damage was caused to several buildings and two people were injured in Tuesday’s incident.
Ukraine has denied it was responsible.
Russia’s defence ministry said eight drones were involved in the “terrorist” action and that all were shot down – with three diverted due to “electronic warfare”.
President Putin, speaking on TV, claimed the attack was aimed as “civilian targets” and promised to improve air defences, which he said had worked well.
Ukraine war latest:
Moscow hit by drone attack – concern for West if Kyiv responsible
Two people sustained minor injuries and residents of tower blocks were evacuated, according to Moscow’s mayor.
People in the south west of the city reported loud bangs in the early hours, followed by the smell of petrol, and daylight video showed smoke rising.
Russian prosecutors said drones were shot down over the Odintsovsky district – where Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo state residence is located.
The district also includes the Rublyovka suburb and its elite gated communities, home to much of Russia’s political and business elite.
“Of course we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
“But of course we have nothing directly to do with this,”
The incident comes a few weeks after Russia blamed Ukraine and the US for a drone attack on the Kremlin – portrayed as an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s life. Ukraine denied involvement.
Meanwhile, Russia’s recent wave of attacks on Kyiv continued overnight.
One person died and several were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire after being hit be debris, said the Kyiv Military Administration.
It said more people could be trapped under rubble because the top two floors had been destroyed.
Authorities said falling debris also started a house fire in the Darnytskyi district and that three cars were set alight in Pechersky district.
Twenty-nine of the 31 explosive drones fired into Ukraine – mostly targeting Kyiv – were shot down, said the air force.
The current wave of strikes started on Sunday and included a rare daylight attack on Monday, when Ukraine said it intercepted all 11 missiles fired at its capital.
Russia started using cheap Iranian-made ‘kamikaze’ drones to attack Ukraine last October.
Their wingspan is about 2.5m and they have explosives in their nose.
However, they travel slowly compared with a regular missile – only around 115mph (185kmh) – and Ukraine says it manages to shoot down most of them.
Kyiv has hundreds of its own attack drones after the US donated hundreds of portable Switchblade models.
The fiercest fighting in the Ukraine war in recent months has been in the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russia claims to have now captured with the help of the Wagner mercenary force.
However, Ukraine is expected to soon launch a much-anticipated counter offensive to try to regain territory seized in the 15-month war.
