Moscow drone attack exposes Russia’s vulnerabilities

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A drone attack that targeted Moscow on Tuesday exposed glaring breaches in its air defences and underlined the capital’s vulnerability as more Russian soil comes under fire amid expectations of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

The attack, which lightly damaged three apartment buildings, angered Russia’s hawks, who scathingly criticised President Vladimir Putin and the military brass for failing to protect the heart of Kremlin power more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the front line.

Five of the eight drones that took part in the raid were shot down, the Defence Ministry said, while three others were jammed and forced to veer off course. Some Russian media and bloggers alleged a larger number of drones were involved, but those claims couldn’t be verified.

The attack followed a May 3 drone strike on the Kremlin that lightly damaged the roof of the palace that includes one of Putin’s official residences. Other drones have crashed near Moscow in what Russian authorities described as botched Ukrainian attempts to attack the city and infrastructure facilities in the suburbs.

Last week, the Russian border region of Belgorod was the target of one of the most serious cross-border raids since the war began, with two far-right pro-ukrainian paramilitary groups claiming responsibility. Officials in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar near annexed Crimea said two drones struck there Friday, damaging residential buildings. The attacks also drew calls for bolstering Russia’s borders.

Ukrainian authorities rejoiced over Tuesday’s drone attack but customarily avoided a claim of responsibility, a response similar to what they said after previous attacks on Russian territory.

In a sarcastic tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that “even artificial intelligence is already smarter and more far-sighted than the Russian military and political leadership”.

The Russian military pummelled the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other cities with cruise missiles and exploding drones for the past three nights, a significant spike in such attacks that have been regularly launched since October. The Ukrainian military said it shot down most of the missiles and remained coy about reporting damage from the strikes.

Putin cast the attack on Moscow as a Ukrainian attempt to intimidate its residents. He said Moscow’s air defences worked as expected, but admitted that protecting a huge city is a daunting task.

“It’s clear what needs to be done to beef up air defences, and we will do it,” he added.

Military watchers said the drones used in the attack were relatively crude and cheap but could have a range of up to 1,000 kilometres (over 620 miles). They predicted more could follow.