Moscow targeted in major drone attack
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A specialist inspects damage to a high-rise building in Moscow on Tuesday after the drone attacks. Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty
Moscow came under attack from at least eight drones early Tuesday morning, Russian officials said, signaling that the Russian capital is no longer entirely shielded from the war in Ukraine.
Driving the news: Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out the "terrorist attack," but said all eight drones were shot down or had their systems jammed. Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky, claimed Ukraine was not "directly involved" but was "watching with pleasure."
- Two people were injured, three apartment buildings were damaged, and a number of apartment blocks were evacuated, Moscow's mayor said.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin — who only rarely responds publicly to events related to the war — accused Ukraine of "terrorist activity," and said Russia's air defenses had worked relatively well but would be strengthened.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Ukraine launched the attack in response to "very effective strikes on a command center" in Ukraine.
- Russian officials have tried to downplay the attacks, some of which seemed to target an upscale neighborhood. Some nationalist commentators have expressed concern that the drones were able to reach Moscow unimpeded.
Kyiv also came under attack overnight.
- One woman was killed, apparently by falling debris. Ukrainian officials claimed to have shot down all of the around 20 drones that targeted the Kyiv region.
- Russia has targeted the Ukrainian capital with drone and missile strikes 17 times just in the month of May, per the BBC, leaving residents exhausted by the continuous air raid sirens and late-night trips to shelters.
After the attacks in Kyiv, and shortly before reports emerged of drones over Moscow, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko appeared on TV and asked: "If the Russians can make Kyiv a nightmare, why do the people of Moscow rest?"
- Kyiv resident Yulia Honcharova told the NYT after the attack in Moscow that she was "not among those who believe that we should bomb their residential quarters at night, but I do want them to feel what it is like to live under constant alarms like the people in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro."
State of play: Aside from the attempted drone attack on the Kremlin on May 3, and some strain from Western sanctions, life in Moscow has largely gone on as normal through more than one year of war.
- While this is the largest-scale attack to date in Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, there have been a number of suspected Ukrainian strikes in regions closer to the Ukrainian border, including on freight trains and storage depots.
- An anti-Putin militia conducted a two-day attack in the Belgorod region last week.
- Senior U.S. officials have in the past expressed concern that attacks inside Russia could lead to escalation.
What to watch: Both sides are preparing for a major Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at retaking occupied territory in the south and east of the country.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with Putin's comments.
Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where host Niala Boodhoo and Dave Lawler discuss why there has been a shift in the Russia-Ukraine war and it means for Russian citizens.
