July 4, 2023, 9:20 AM
July 4, 2023, 9:20 AM
Russia neutralized five Ukrainian drones near Moscow and in its region on July 4, an action that affected the operation of the Vnukovo international airport and that Moscow diplomacy described as a “terrorist act”.
The announcement occurs in full Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in early June to recapture the territories conquered by Russian forces since the start of their military operation in February 2022.
“This morning an attempt by the Kiev regime to commit a terrorist act with five drones” was prevented” targeting sites in the Moscow region and the outskirts of the Russian capital, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Four drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense near the Russian capital and the fifth was neutralized by “electronic warfare means” before falling in the Moscow region, the ministry added.
The attack caused no casualties or damage, according to the same source.
“All attacks were repelled by anti-aircraft defense, all detected drones were neutralized,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin celebrated on Telegram.
One of the drones was neutralized near Kubinka, some 40 kilometers from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, affecting its operation, according to first aid services, quoted by the RIA Novosti public press agency.
Several flights had to be diverted to other destinations overnight until the airport “returned to work” at 0500 GMT, Russia’s Rosaviatsia air transport agency said.
The fifth drone was shot down in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the official TASS news agency said.
Russia points to the West
After the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced a kyiv “terrorist act”.
“An attempt by the Kiev regime to attack an area where civilian infrastructure sites are located, including an airport that receives international flights, is a new terrorist act,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.
Since the Ukrainian president Volodimir “Zelensky” commits these terrorist acts using weapons supplied by the West or purchased with Western financing, this is international terrorism,” he added.
“The international community must realize that the United States, the United Kingdom and France, permanent members of the UN Security Council, are financing a terrorist regime,” he insisted.
More than 500 km from the Ukrainian border, Moscow and the region have rarely been the target of drone attacks, although they have multiplied in other parts of the country.
On June 21, Russia announced the interception of three drones in the region of its capital, two of them near a military base, and accused Kiev of being behind the attack.
In early May, two drones tried to hit the Kremlin in Moscow. At the end of the month, other devices hit buildings in the capital.
On the front, Ukraine claimed on Monday to have recovered 37 km2 in the east and south after a “difficult” week in this counteroffensive, but conceded that Russian troops were attacking on other parts of the front.
The operation launched in early June by kyiv is making limited progress for now, due to Russia’s strong defense and lack of air assets and artillery ammunition.
