Putin Vows Revenge After Drone Strikes In Moscow Bring War To Russia

On Tuesday morning (May 30), a series of drone strikes hit several buildings in Moscow. According to the state news agency RIA-Novosti, an unmanned vehicle hit the upper floors of a residential high-rise in the southwestern region of the city. Another struck the 14th floor of an apartment building in Leninsky Prospekt.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, told residents on the mobile app Telegram that emergency services had arrived on the scene and that two people were injured. Sobyanin also said that residents that had evacuated the apartment building hit by the drones were returning home.

In the months since Russian President Vladimir Putin began the invasion of Ukraine, areas of Russia bordering Ukraine have been attacked. Local officials have observed periodic shelling from Ukraine, and last Friday, the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for helicopter strikes on a fuel depot in Russian territory.

Vowing revenge, Putin said Ukraine was attempting “to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings. This is clearly a sign of terrorist activity.”

Leaked U.S. military documents suggest that Putin has been suffering from cancer for years.

Although a top official said that Russia was getting what it deserved, Ukraine denied any connection in Tuesday’s drone attack.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said on Telegram, “What is growing in Russia is the karmic payment that Russia will gradually pay in aggravated form for everything it does in Ukraine.”

The significance of May 30’s drone strike was that it occurred close to the center of Russia’s economic and political elite. Some of the drones flew over Rublyovka, an area where many oligarchs and politicians live. This is also close to Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence, the location where the Russian president spends most of his time.

The Ministry of Defense reported that its air defense was successful, claiming that all the drones were destroyed. Russian aviation experts say that the drone strike was most likely a way to test Russia’s air defense capabilities. It remains unclear whether this military action will serve as an indicator of what is to come amid hints of Ukrainian retaliation.