LIVE – Drones over Moscow: For Kremlin, attack is “a response” to recent Russian strikes from Kiev

The US will not support military strikes against Russia, the State Department said on Tuesday after a drone attack on Moscow it blamed on the Kremlin’s Ukrainian camp.

“Generally speaking, we do not support attacks inside Russia. We are focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training it needs to regain its own sovereignty,” a U.S. diplomatic spokeswoman said in a statement. Antony Blinken for Sweden.

Details of US announcements on this matter can be read in this article.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “condemned” the “new Russian airstrikes against civilian targets” in a telephone interview with Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.

The German leader assured the Ukrainian president that “Germany will continue its support to Ukraine, including in the military sector, in close coordination with its European and international partners,” the Chancellery said in a statement.

During a televised address on Tuesday, the Russian president said the drone strikes blamed on Moscow were in response to a recent Russian attack on a Ukrainian intelligence headquarters.

“We have already discussed the possibility of strikes against decision-making centers. Military Intelligence Headquarters. [ukrainien]One of them was attacked two or three days ago. (…) In response, the Kyiv regime chose a different path,” said Vladimir Putin, attacking Moscow.

Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Ukraine of trying to “terrorize” the Russian people. Unprecedented drone attack on MoscowIt praised the anti-aircraft defenses of the capital, saying it was performing “satisfactorily”.

“The Kiev regime has chosen (…) to intimidate Russia and intimidate Russian citizens,” the Russian president said in statements broadcast on Russian public television.

Russia has accused the West of propping up Kiev after an unprecedented drone strike in Moscow on Tuesday morning, which it says is prompting Ukraine to launch increasingly “irresponsible” attacks.

“Western support for the Kiev regime is pushing Ukrainian leaders to commit increasingly reckless criminal acts,” the Russian Foreign Ministry blasted in a statement, accusing Ukraine of trying to “sow panic” by Russia.

In an audio recording posted on his Telegram channel, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner Militia, criticized Russian military leaders after the drone attack on Moscow.

“We are now years, maybe decades behind our adversaries,” he said of the Russian drone fleet, with CNN translating.

He also attacked Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, with whom he has been in open conflict for weeks.

“You smelly animals, what are you doing? You pigs! Get your asses out of the offices that keep this country safe. You’re the Department of Defense. You’re doing nothing to stop this. “Why do you let it? Will these drones hit Moscow?” he said.

During the same speech, Dmitry Peskov wanted to reassure Muscovites.

“There have been no deaths, there is no threat to the residents of Moscow and (its) region at this time,” the Russian president’s spokesman told reporters, assuring that Vladimir Putin was informed of the evolution in real time. situation.

During a press conference at noon on Tuesday, a Kremlin spokesman assured that Tuesday’s drone strike on Moscow was “a response” from Kiev to recent Russian attacks in Ukraine.

“It is very clear that we are responding to our very effective strikes from the Kiev regime against one of its command centers,” Dmitry said. Peskov assured that “the anti-aircraft defense system (above Moscow) worked well.”

During a program aired on Ukrainian television on Tuesday morning, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, denied Kiev’s involvement in the drone strikes that hit Moscow on Tuesday.

“We have nothing to do with it,” he said in comments translated by the BBC. However, he also assured that Kiev “watches with joy and anticipates escalating attacks”.

This is not the first time that the Ukrainian leader or Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s entourage has refused to operate in Russia. In early May, Ukrainian officials denied instigating the alleged attack against the Kremlin.

Speaking on Monday evening, Volodymyr Zelensky said air defenses had saved “hundreds of lives” when Kiev was hit by two airstrikes in less than 24 hours before a third of the night from Monday to Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president said the US-made Patriot missiles would ensure “100% shoot down of all Russian missiles,” CNN translated.

“We are preparing new joint measures with our partners to strengthen our security and our active operations. There is no alternative to the complete liberation of our land,” he said.

After the drone attack on Moscow early on Tuesday, conflicting reports are being reported. Officially, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated that eight drones were shot down in the Russian capital and later neutralized.

According to Telegram’s Bassa channel, which has reliable sources within the security services, around 25 drones were shot down, according to Reuters.

Russian channel RBK, for its part, cited an anonymous source in the Ministry of Defense, according to which more than 10 drones were shot down.

A telegram from Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyan said two people were injured, one of whom was hospitalized, during the drone strike that hit the Russian capital on Tuesday morning. Additionally, no death should be mourned.

Residents of several apartment blocks were briefly evacuated, while Moscow airports remained open.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, contacted by Telegram, 29 explosive drones out of a total of 31 bombs were shot down for the third time in 24 hours in Kiev and its region in a new Russian “massive attack” overnight from Monday to Tuesday.

“Between 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. (local time, editor’s note), Russian occupation troops attacked Ukraine with 31 Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 drones, 29 of which were shot down, “almost all near the capital and in the skies over Kiev. “

During the attack, at least one person was killed and several others were injured.

Kyiv blamed Tuesday’s drone strike on Moscow as a “terrorist attack,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry, contacted by Telegram.

“This morning, the Kyiv regime launched a terrorist attack by drones against bases in Moscow,” the ministry said. “Eight drones were involved in the attack,” he said, assuring them that they were all neutralized.

The Russian capital was the scene of a drone attack on Tuesday morning that caused “minor” damage to buildings without causing any casualties, according to Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyan.

“All of the city’s emergency services are on site (…) so far no one has been seriously injured,” the elected official wrote in a telegram.

Located 1,000 km from Ukraine, Moscow and its region have so far been rarely targeted by drone strikes. According to Russian officials, the Kremlin was targeted by a similar attack in early May.

Pictures posted on social media showed traces of smoke in the sky. In others, you can see the window of a broken building.

Hello, and welcome to this live stream dedicated to recent events in Ukraine, but also in Russia, where a rare drone attack took place early this Tuesday.