At least eight armed Ukrainian drones targeted the Moscow region early Tuesday, Russian authorities said, damaging several buildings and bringing the war home to Russia 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 Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a few buildings suffered minor damage in the “terrorist attack” but no deaths or injuries were reported.
At a public event, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian government “attempts to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and strikes at civilian buildings. … It is, of course, a clear indication of terrorist activity.” He added that Moscow’s air defenses would be bolstered.
Ukrainian presidential Mykhailo Podolyak denied his country was behind the air attack but predicted more would follow. “We are pleased to watch events,” he said.
The strike came as Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv came under multiple waves of blistering Russian attacks. Several other cities also were hit, and acting Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said four people were killed and 34 hospitalized after overnight attacks across the country.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said a Patriot air defense system was struck during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, but Ukraine denied the claim.
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.
∙ In his relentless campaign to acquire armament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Korean newspaper Chosun that he hopes South Korea will supply Ukraine air defense systems, arguing such a move would not run counter to South Korea’s opposition to provide weapons.
‘One day our luck will run out,’ UN nuclear head says of Zaporizhzhia plant
The United Nations’ nuclear chief presented Tuesday a five-point safety plan for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, emphasizing that good fortune has helped prevent a disastrous accident and it would be foolish to rely on that element while a war is being waged near Europe’s largest nuclear facility.
Rafael Grossi reiterated to the U.N. Security Council what he told the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors in March: “We are rolling a dice and if this continues then one day our luck will run out.”
Russian forces took over the plant weeks into the conflict, and seven times since then fighting around it has disrupted critical power supplies. Grossi asked the warring parties to observe the principles of his plan, which call for:
− A ban on attacks from or against the plant, especially targeting reactors and spent-fuel storage areas.
– A ban on the storage of heavy weapons or presence of military personnel that could be used for an attack.
– Ensuring the security of an uninterrupted off-site power supply to the plant.
– Protecting “all structures, systems and components” essential to the plant’s operation from attacks or acts of sabotage.
– Taking no action to undermine those principles.
Russia has attacked Ukrainian health care 1,000 times, WHO says
It took Russia a mere 15 months to launch the highest number of attacks on healthcare facilities and services the World Health Organization has ever recorded in a conflict.
That figure stood at 1,004 on Tuesday, when the WHO said those verified attacks against Ukrainian health care had killed at least 101 people, “including both health workers and patients, and injured many more.”
The vast majority of the assaults (896) were perpetrated on health facilities, the WHO said, but the tally also included attacks on transport, personnel and warehouses.
Russia issues arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham
Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham after the South Carolina Republican’s comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting Friday with 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 dismissed 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. (Richard) Blumenthal, my good friend from Connecticut who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has offered to be my lawyer.”
British official supports Ukraine’s right to hit targets inside Russia
Ukraine has the right to “project force beyond its borders” to undermine Russia’s ability to project its own force into Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Tuesday. Cleverly, speaking in Estonia, said striking military targets beyond Ukraine’s own borders should be considered part of a self-defense strategy. Britain has taken a harder stance with Ukraine against Russia than the U.S.
US does not support attacks inside Russia, White House says
The White House said Tuesday it was still gathering information regarding the Moscow drone attack.
“We do not support attacks inside of Russia. We’ve been very clear about that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “We have been focused on providing Ukraine … the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory. And that’s exactly what we’ve done for this past more than a year now.
“If you look at where we are today, today was also Russia’s 17th round of airstrikes on Kyiv (this month), many of which have devastated civilian areas, as Russia continues its brutal attacks against the people of Ukraine.”
− Francesca Chambers
Blinken expects Sweden to get NATO approval in ‘weeks ahead’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Turkey to approve Sweden’s request to join NATO, saying he expects the Nordic country to gain admittance “in the weeks ahead,” in time for the military alliance’s summit in mid-July.
Speaking alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on a visit to Sweden, Blinken also said Tuesday that the Biden administration has not tied Turkey’s desired purchase of F-16 warplanes to getting that approval but acknowledged Congress has.
“We believe the time is now and there’s no reason for not moving forward,” Blinken said, according to Reuters. “Turkey has raised important and legitimate concerns. Sweden and Finland both addressed those concerns.
“We look forward to this process being completed in the weeks ahead. We have no doubt that it can be, and it should be and we expect it to be.”
Turkey and Hungary remain the only holdouts against Sweden’s accession, which requires unanimity.
Chechen leader calls for martial law across Russia
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday called for martial law across Russia so the country can focus its resources on an effort to “sweep away this entire terrorist cell at once.” Kadyrov described the drone attacks on Moscow as terrorism and dismissed the Ukraine military and political leaders as terrorists. He warned European countries to think about whom they sponsor and to whom they provide weapons.
“Responses to such attempts to attack should not be harsh − they should be brutal,” he said in a Telegram post. “We protect our citizens, and there is no need to show off and stand on ceremony. We will soon show … what revenge is in the full sense of the word.”
Video game marketer by day, ammo hunter by night
What began as raising funds to buy ammo for her best friend who is among the thousands of men fighting in the 15-month-old war against Russia has now become Dorogova’s passion. Dorogova calls her volunteerism an act of “pride and for love of country.” She has also held numerous fundraisers for Ukrainian brigades, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from supporters. Read more here.
− Terry Collins
Contributing: The Associated Press
