UAV attack on Moscow: President Putin says Ukraine is provoking Russian leadership

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an interview regarding the UAV attack on Moscow. Photo: Tass

In an interview with the Strategic Initiatives Agency about the UAV attack on Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said that with this action, the Ukrainian government is trying to intimidate Russian citizens and provoke the Russian leadership to make a similar reaction.

The Russian leader linked the attack on Moscow to the Russian Armed Forces' earlier attack on Ukraine's military intelligence headquarters. President Putin said that Russia had carried out airstrikes on Kiev on an unprecedented scale, but carried out "with long-range precision weapons, in particular, targeting military infrastructure, ammunition depots, or fuel depots used for combat operations." However, the Kiev authorities chose a different path - threatening Russian citizens and "attacking residential buildings." "This is a clear sign of terrorist activity," President Putin asserted.

The White House said on May 30 that Washington is gathering information on reports of UAV attacks in Moscow. The White House also affirmed that Washington does not support attacks inside Russia. A White House spokesman said on May 30 that Washington is focused on providing equipment and training activities to Ukraine and does not support attacks inside Russia.

Responding to the US statements, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Washington is actually encouraging Ukrainian "terrorists".

"No one believes the US slogan about not supporting the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian territory. Especially when these words are said timidly and uncertainly" - Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov expressed his opinion.

Mr. Antonov said that Kiev's terrorist attack did not have any military significance.

On May 30, Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 8 UAVs participated in the attack, of which 5 were shot down, the remaining 3 were suppressed by electronic warfare.

The head of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, said that this was largely an information campaign, an act of intimidation aimed at civilians. It was designed to cause a wave of panic. It was important for Russia not to let this happen./.