Extract from ABC News
President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine's biggest ever drone strike on Moscow was an attempt to scare and provoke Russia.
Key points:
- Vladimir Putin accuses Kyiv of aiming to strike civilian targets in Moscow
- The foreign minster says Russia has the right to respond with the "harshest" measures
- The US is still gathering information on the drone attacks as Ukraine denies involvement
Russia said eight drones targeted civilian areas of Moscow and the Moscow region — with a population of over 21 million — in the early hours of Tuesday (local time) but were either shot down or diverted with special electronic jammers.
Mr Putin cast the assault as a terrorist act that came after Russia struck at Ukraine's military intelligence headquarters several days ago.
He said the attack was aimed at "civilian targets" and Ukraine had chosen the path of attempting "to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings".
"This is clearly a sign of terrorist activity," Mr Putin said.
Air defences around Moscow — which as the capital of the world's biggest nuclear power is already protected by an extensive early warning system — would be strengthened, he said.
Russia warns of harsh response
Russia said the drones targeted some of Moscow's most prestigious districts including where Mr Putin and the elite have residences.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people were injured in the attacks, one of whom was hospitalised.
No deaths were reported.
Russia's foreign ministry said that it reserved the right to take the most "severe measures" in response to the drone attack.
"Assurances by NATO officials that the Kyiv regime will not launch strikes deep into Russian territory prove to be completely hypocritical," the ministry said in a statement.
"Russia reserves the right to take the harshest possible measures in response to the terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime," it added.
A Ukrainian presidential aide denied Kyiv was directly involved in the Moscow attack, but said Ukraine was enjoying watching events and forecast more to come.
"Of course we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks," Mykhailo Podolyak said.
"But of course we have nothing directly to do with this."
The White House said it was still gathering information on the reports of drones striking in Moscow, while reiterating that Washington did not support attacks inside Russia.
Washington is "focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory", a spokesperson said in a statement.
Russian politician Maxim Ivanov called Tuesday's attack the most serious assault on Moscow since Nazi Germany's invasion in World War II, saying no Russian could now avoid "the new reality".
So far Mr Putin has kept the war in Ukraine far from Moscow, where life has continued relatively normally despite the biggest rupture in Russia's ties with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
But drone attacks deep inside the country have intensified in recent weeks with strikes on oil pipelines and even the Kremlin earlier this month.
Ukraine denied the Kremlin attack but The New York Times reported that US intelligence believes Kyiv was responsible.
Kyiv's continued bombardment
Russia began attacking the Ukrainian capital with swarms of cheaply produced loitering munitions often known as "kamikaze" drones last October and uses them extensively during its regular air strikes across Ukraine.
Over this month, it has again been repeatedly attacking Kyiv using a combination of drones and missiles, mostly at night, in an apparent attempt to undermine Ukrainians' will to fight after more than 15 months of war.
Kyiv said four people died around Ukraine in Russia's latest attacks on Tuesday, with 34 wounded including two children.
"Russia is trying to break us and break our will," Ukrainian interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said.
At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defence forces in Kyiv’s airspace in the latest attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of 31 drones, mostly in the Kyiv area, the air force said.
The heavier destruction in Kyiv contrasted with what was seen in Moscow.
In the Ukrainian capital, burned-out cars, glass and debris littered the street outside a building where apartments were wrecked.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, only a few broken windows and scorched outer walls were evident, with repairs and repainting being done quickly to affected buildings.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had recorded 1,004 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine during the Russian invasion, the highest number recorded by the organisation in any conflict.
"The 1,004 WHO-verified attacks over the past 15 months of full-scale war have claimed at least 101 lives, including both health workers and patients, and injured many more," it said in an emailed statement.
The WHO said it recorded 896 attacks on health facilities, 121 on transport, 72 on personnel and 17 on warehouses in Ukraine during the war.
The conflict has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions, according to UN figures.
Wires/ABC
