At least eight armed Ukrainian drones targeted the Moscow region early Tuesday, Russian authorities said, damaging several buildings and bringing the war home to Russians after 15 months of destruction across Ukraine’s cities.
The Russian defense ministry said five drones were shot down and three others were electronically jammed, causing them to veer off course. Moscow Sergei Sobyanin said a few buildings suffered minor damage in the “terrorist attack” but that no deaths or injuries were reported.
“It is clear that we are talking about the response of the Kyiv regime to our very effective strikes on the center, one of the decision-making centers,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on the Russian claims. The attack came as Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv came under multiple waves of blistering Russian missile attacks. Several other cities also were hit, and acting Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko says four people were killed and 34 hospitalized after overnight attacks across the country.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says Patriot air defense system was struck during Russian missile attack in Kyiv, but there was no independent confirmation of the strike.
Developments:
∙ Ukraine’s Armed Forces estimated that more than 207,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the war began. Ukraine’s estimates have generally been similar to Pentagon estimates. Ukraine does not make public its own losses.
∙ South Africa said it will provide diplomatic immunity to attendees of a BRICS summit − Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa − scheduled for August. Because of International Criminal Court charges related to war, South Africa would otherwise be obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend.
Russia issues arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham
Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham following the South Carolina Republican’s comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Graham noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
Graham was dismissive of the warrant on Twitter: “Good news: While I don’t expect to be tried by Russia anytime soon, I found the services of a great lawyer who works cheap. Sen. Blumenthal, my good friend from Connecticut who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has offered to be my lawyer.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
