Kyiv takes the fight to Moscow
A furious Kremlin has threatened the “harshest possible” retaliation after a suspected Ukrainian drone strike injured residents of a leafy Moscow suburb.
Muscovites woke to the sound of explosions early on Tuesday morning as Russian air defence systems shot down several drones approaching the capital.
The city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said two people were injured, but not seriously, while some residents in two lightly damaged apartment blocks were briefly evacuated. It follows another alleged Ukrainian attack on Moscow earlier this month, when two drones were shot down over the Kremlin building.
President Putin blamed Ukraine for the latest attack which he said was aimed at “civilian targets” with the aim of “frightening” Russians. An aide to President Zelensky denied that Kyiv had a hand in the attack but said that Ukraine had been “pleased to watch”.
The explosions over Moscow came as Russia launched its own drone strikes over Kyiv, the third barrage over the Ukrainian capital in 24 hours, injuring at least 30 and killing a 33-year-old woman.
For Ukraine, attempting to widen the war satisfies several objectives at once. One is psychological. The downed drones hit the city’s “golden mile”, a wealthy south-western residential district dotted with residences of government officials and mansions of Russian tycoons.
While it’s unclear whether these affluent areas were the intended target – there are known military and industrial targets near where the drones were shot down – terrifying the wealthy Muscovites who hold some sway in the Putin-centric political system would seem like a shrewd way of undermining domestic support for the war.
Plus, for many Ukrainians targeted by Russian bombs for 15 months, a sense that Russian civilians are being made to feel a fraction of their fear and pain will bring a grim satisfaction.
The strategic advantage of hitting Russia on home turf – albeit indirectly and deniably – is also important. Last week, two Russian paramilitary groups fighting alongside Ukraine – the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and Liberty of Russia Legion (LSR) – carried out a cross-border raid into Russia’s southern Belgorod region. While Ukraine again denied any involvement in the incursion, capturing Russian territory – even by a proxy outfit – would give it valuable bargaining chips in any eventual peace talks.
Apart from the fact the Belgorod raid appeared to have failed, there was one other snag. Russia posted pictures of destroyed US vehicles apparently at the scene of the fighting and said it was proof of deepening Western military involvement in the war.
It’s entirely possible that the scene was staged. Either way, it’s a reminder of tensions between Ukraine and its Western backers over the scope of the war.
Western nations have placed limits on acceptable targets for the arms they provide Kyiv, and demanded assurances that these weapons will not be used inside Russia.
In response to reports in the Washington Post earlier this month that Ukraine was considering attacking the Druzhba gas pipeline running from Russia to Hungary, and invading the city of Belgorod, Zelensky said: “We have neither the time nor the strength [to attack Russia]”. Today’s drone attack is the latest in a series of events suggesting otherwise.
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