Unprecedented Drone Attack on Moscow Highlights Growing Conflict Between Russia and Ukraine

Moscow was hit by an unprecedented drone attack Tuesday morning, in what appears to be the first attack on residential areas of the Russian capital since the invasion of Ukraine. The attack came after a pre-dawn air raid on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which killed at least one person and sent residents into shelters to escape the bombardment.

Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday that eight “aircraft-type” unmanned aerial vehicles were involved in the alleged attack on Moscow. Ukraine’s air force said on social media that, “Between 11:30 pm and 4:30 am, Russian occupation troops attacked Ukraine” with 31 Shahed drones, 29 of which were shot down, “almost all of them near the capital and in the […]Moscow area.”

The Russian defense ministry said on social media Tuesday that all of the enemy drones were downed. It comes weeks after an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin itself and following days of deadly Russian bombardment against civilians in Kyiv, as events far from the front lines take the spotlight ahead of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive.

Authorities in Moscow said the Russian capital was attacked by drones Tuesday. The attack is a dramatic display of the Kremlin’s war increasingly coming home and is a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The two countries have been in a state of conflict since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.