Moscow drone attack: Russia blames Ukraine, calls it 'terrorist attack'

Russia said on Tuesday (May 30) that it had intercepted all eight of the Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow and accused Kyiv of a "terrorist attack". There were no reports of deaths, but authorities said that the early morning attack injured two people, one of whom was hospitalised.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak denied Kyiv's involvement in the attack but Moscow has launched a probe into the incident as the Russian forensic experts were seen in the capital, collecting what appears to be fragments of a drone.

The Kremlin said there was "no threat at the moment" to residents, some of whom had evacuated briefly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "Thank God, there were no victims and there is no threat at the moment for residents of Moscow and the Moscow region."

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Kremlin also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed in "real-time". Peskov said, "The president's working day started very early. He was receiving information in real-time from the defence ministry, the mayor of Moscow, the governor of the Moscow region and the emergencies ministry."

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The drone attack on Moscow is rare — a foreshadowing of a possible escalation of the ongoing war as the Kremlin said that the unprecedented drone attack was a "response" by Kyiv to a recent Russian hit in Ukraine.

Peskov said, "It is completely clear that we are talking about response acts by the Kyiv regime to very effective strikes on a command centre (in Ukraine)."

Lawmaker Maxim Ivanov called it the most serious assault on Moscow since the Nazis, saying no citizen could now avoid "the new reality".

He said, "You will either defeat the enemy as a single fist with our Motherland, or the indelible shame of cowardice, collaboration and betrayal will engulf your family."

Notably, two drones recently exploded over the Kremlin in an attack Russia also blamed on Kyiv and said was aimed at Putin.

Drone strike on Kyiv

The drone attack on Moscow came amid Russia's intensified aggression as at least one person was killed Monday night in a "massive attack" by drones on the Ukrainian capital. It was one such attack carried out recently.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that rescuers evacuated three injured people and 20 others from a multi-storey building in a southern area of Kyiv after falling debris caused a fire.

"One person died, three were injured. The two upper floors are destroyed, there may be people under the rubble," Klitschko said.

The military administration of the Ukrainian capital said that the air defence forces destroyed more than 20 drones in Russia-launched overnight air attacks on Kyiv.

Ukraine's chief diplomatic adviser, Ihor Zhovkva, said that the country is not interested in a ceasefire that locks in Russian territorial gains and instead wants the fulfilment of its peace plan, which calls for the complete evacuation of Russian soldiers.