Ukrainian Drones Over Moscow
This morning Ukraine appears to have launched a large scale drone attack on Moscow. Little can be confirmed, including that Ukraine was directly responsible for the raid, beyond what has been seen in social media videos showing the attack. This large-scale attack by one-way, kamikaze drones represents the latest direct attack on Russian soil.
It is believed several types of UAV appear to have been used in the attack, analysts at UAWeapons suggest that one of the drones is a UAV which has been seen in previous strikes on Russian infrastructure, described by some sources as the UJ-22. Another UAV, with a prominent hammerhead pusher configuration appeared in numerous videos. It appears similar to a drone which was crowdfunded by a Ukrainian blogger for the GUR.
The Russian defense ministry claimed that eight drones had targeted Moscow overnight but this figure is unconfirmed. Several of the drones reportedly detonated near residential buildings, including one apparently striking a high-rise apartment building. Moscow’s mayor reported that two people had been injured. These buildings were unlikely to have been the drones’ targets, the detonations were likely due to local jamming of the UAVs’ guidance systems. Mark Krutov, with Radio Free Europe, has mapped geolocated videos of the attack, showing both sightings of the drones and Russian air defense positions around the capital.
In statements to Russian state news Vladimir Putin described the attack as seeking “to provoke a response from Russia”. Stating that the capital’s air defenses had worked “normally, satisfactorily” but that “there is work to be done.” Seeking to reassure he continued, “but in general, it is clear what needs to be done to seal the air defense of the capital. And we will do it”. Similarly, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said there was “no imminent threat to residents of Moscow and the Moscow region either”.
The US government has said it is continuing to gather information on the strike while UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has said, when asked about the attack during a press conference, that Ukraine has the right to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia in an effort “to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.” Earlier today Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukrainian media that “of course we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks. But of course we have nothing directly to do with this.”
Earlier this month a pair of smaller one-way drones attacked the Kremlin. Unverified video showed a small drone detonating near the famous Kremlin dome. Ukraine, however, denied responsibility for the 3 May attack. Ukrainian officials have, at the time of writing, not yet commented directly on today’s attack. If indeed launched by Ukraine, the raid represents the first like-for-like response following months of Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.