Moscow says Ukrainian UAV attacks impossible without US, NATO aid
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Russia says Ukraine would not have been able to launch UAV attacks on its soil were it not for help from the United States and NATO.
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In this image taken from video, investigators inspect the building after a Ukrainian drone damaged an apartment building in Moscow, Russia, on May 30, 2023 (AP)
Ukraine would not have been able to launch drone attacks on Moscow had it not been for help from NATO and the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Two drones were shot down in the Russian capital close to the Vnukovo Airport, with no casualties or damage, Sputnik reported earlier in the day. Another drone was shot down near Kubinka in Moscow.
"Such attacks would not have been possible without the help of the United States and its NATO allies to the Kiev regime, who continue to pump it with weapons, including UAVs, train drone operators and provide intelligence information necessary for the commission of such crimes, including images of the Earth's surface obtained with the help of civilian and military satellites," the ministry said in a statement.
"All this makes Washington and its satellites complicit in the preparation and implementation of terrorist acts planned and committed by Kiev with Western money using Western weapons," the statement added.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Tuesday that Ukraine has made another attempt to attack Moscow and the Moscow Region with drones, announcing that the attacks were repelled by Russian air defense forces.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced restrictions on arrivals and departures at Vnukovo Airport until 05:00 GMT. The Russian news agency cited a source as saying that 14 flights were redirected from Vnukovo Airport to other airports.
"Today, another attempt was made by Ukrainian drones to attack New Moscow [a Moscow district] and the Moscow Region. At the moment, the attacks have been repelled by air defense forces, all detected UAVs have been eliminated," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
He noted that no human casualties were recorded after the drone attack, adding that emergency services are working at the scene of the incident.
Later, emergency services told Sputnik that two additional drones have been shot down by air defense systems in the Russian capital, with no casualties reported.
On its part, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that "an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by five drones on targets in Moscow region and New Moscow has been foiled this morning."
"Four Ukrainian UAVs on the territory of New Moscow were shot down by air defence forces," the ministry confirmed on its Telegram channel, adding that "another UAV was suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed on the territory of Odintsovo district, Moscow region."
This comes months after the press service of the Kremlin said two UAVs attempted to target the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin stated that Putin was left unharmed by the attack and that Russia reserves the right to initiate retaliation against Kiev's attempt to strike at the Kremlin.
The Kremlin further stated that it considered the attempted drone attack on the presidential palace as a planned terrorist act and an attempted assassination against Putin.
In the wake of the attacks, Moscow accused the US of masterminding a drone attack on the Kremlin, pointing out that sabotage attacks by Ukraine behind Russian lines had reached "unprecedented momentum".
"Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kiev, but in Washington," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a briefing, adding that "Kiev only does what it is told to do."
