White House does not support attacks inside Russia: Spokesperson
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A White House spokesperson claims that the US was only providing Ukraine with the needed training and equipment to retake their own territory.
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In this Sept. 25, 2019, file photo, the White House is seen from the Ellipse in Washington. (AP)
While Washington does not support attacks inside Russia and concentrates on aiding Ukraine to retake its territory, the United States is still collecting information on reports of drones hitting Moscow, the White House said on Tuesday.
"We saw the news and are still gathering information about what happened. As general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia," a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
Washington was "focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory," the spokesperson said, pointing out to Russian attacks on Kiev, which was struck by missiles or drones 17 times in May.
Read: Ukrainian chief of staff injured in Russian strike early May
Earlier today, Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said several drones had been shot down as they approached Moscow.
"This morning, residents of some districts of the Moscow Region could hear the sounds of explosions - this is the work of our air defenses. Several drones were shot down on approach to Moscow," the governor wrote on Telegram.
He asked residents to remain calm and said all emergency services are working.
On his part, Putin said Tuesday's attack was an attempt to scare and provoke Russia and that air defenses around the capital would be strengthened.
The latest series of incidents involving UAVs comes after earlier this month, Moscow said Ukraine attempted to strike the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin with two drones.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin was not in the Kremlin at that time, and Russia's Investigative Committee initiated a case over a terrorist attack "in connection with an attempt by Kiev to strike" the Kremlin with drones.
Putin confirms Russian targeting of Ukraine's main Intel HQ in Kiev
Russia had earlier today confirmed carrying out a strike targeting Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate in Kiev, stressing that Ukrainian decision-making facilities are legitimate targets within the reach of the Russian forces.
Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of targeting Moscow with eight drones on Tuesday, adding that all the drones involved in the incident were downed.
The Ministry added that three of the drones were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control, and deviated from their intended targets and that another five drones were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the air defense in the capital operated "in a satisfactory manner" in intercepting the UAVs but said that "there's still some progress to be made."
He called on Ukrainian citizens to recognize what path Kiev is leading them toward, stressing that this is not only regarding the drone attack but also the targeting of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant ZNPP.
In May, Russia's Kremlin said two UAVs attempted to target the Kremlin residence of Putin, confirming however that the President was unharmed.
Read more: Two Ukrainian UAVs targeted Kremlin, Putin unharmed
Shortly after the incident, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Wednesday that Moscow implemented a nationwide ban on the launch of UAVs. However, the ban will not apply to drones deployed by state authorities.
Moscow accused Kiev of carrying out the attack, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the targeting could not have taken place without Washington's knowledge, warning that Russia would respond with "concrete actions".
