This announcement comes against the backdrop of the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched in early June to retake from Russian forces the territories conquered in Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation more than sixteen months ago. “This morning, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist act was prevented with five drones” targeting sites in the Moscow region and at the end of the Russian capital, the Russian Defense Ministry announced in a statement. communicated.
The main information to remember:
- Four drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense near Moscow, a fifth “neutralized”
- Russian diplomacy denounced a “terrorist act” by kyiv
- Ukraine claimed on Monday to have taken back 37 km2 in the east and south
Russia denounces a “terrorist act”
Four drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense near the capital and the fifth was neutralized by “electronic warfare means”, before crashing in the Moscow region, according to the same source. The attack caused no casualties or damage, the ministry said. “All attacks were repelled by anti-aircraft defense, all detected drones were neutralized,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
According to the emergency services quoted by the public news agency RIA Novosti, one of the drones was neutralized near Kubinka, located about forty kilometers from Vnukovo international airport, the operation of which was disrupted for three hours. due to attack. Vnukovo airport, where several flights were redirected to other airports in the morning, “resumed work” at 5 a.m. GMT, according to the Russian Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia). According to the official Russian agency TASS, the Russian anti-aircraft defense also shot down a drone in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.
After the attack, Russian diplomacy denounced a “terrorist act” by kyiv. “An attempt by the Kyiv regime to attack an area where civilian infrastructure sites are located, including an airport which, by the way, receives international flights, is a new terrorist act,” the official said on Telegram. spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova.
Westerners singled out
Considering that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “commits these terrorist acts using weapons delivered by the West or purchased with Western funding, this is international terrorism”, she said. “The international community must realize that the United States, Great Britain and France – permanent members of the UN Security Council – are funding a terrorist regime,” added Maria Zakharova.
Moscow and its region, located more than 500 km from the Ukrainian border, have only rarely been targeted by drone attacks since the start of the offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, even if this type of attack has is multiplied elsewhere in Russia. On June 21, Russia announced that it had neutralized three drones in the region of its capital, including two near a military base, accusing kyiv of being behind this attack. At the beginning of May, two drones had targeted the Kremlin in Moscow, and other devices had hit buildings in the Russian capital at the end of the same month.
On the front, Ukraine claimed on Monday to have retaken 37 km2 in the east and south after a “difficult” week as part of its counter-offensive, while reporting that Russian troops were also on the attack. on other sectors of the front. Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale operation in early June to retake territories occupied by Russia, but gains have so far been limited due to a strong Russian defense and a lack of military air force and ammunition. ‘artillery.