Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the “war is returning to Russia” after a third drone strike in a week hit Moscow.
The Ukrainian leader, speaking to his country during his nightly address, did not claim responsibility for the strikes which is in keeping with the standard policy of secrecy concerning attacks outside of their borders.
But he did say the destruction was “inevitable, natural and fair” given the invasion. Sunday’s attacks, which hit one building less than five miles from the Kremlin and temporarily caused Moscow to shut down its airspace, reflected a pattern of more frequent and deeper cross-border strikes the Kyiv government has launched since starting a counteroffensive against Russian forces in June.
The Russian Defense Ministry said three drones targeted the city in an “attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime”.
Air defences shot down one drone in Odintsovo in the surrounding Moscow region, while two others were jammed and crashed into the Moscow City business district.
Speaking in a video posted on social media in the wake of the Moscow attacks, Mr Zelensky said: “Russian aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield. Today is already the five hundred and twenty-second day of the so-called “special military operation,” which the Russian leadership expected to last for a week or two.
“Ukraine is getting stronger. Gradually, the war is returning to Russia’s territory – to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and fair process.
“But we must be aware that, just like last year, Russian terrorists can still attack our energy sector and critical facilities this winter.
“Today we discussed with the communities the current state of preparation for all possible scenarios.”
The Sunday attacks were the fourth such strike on the capital region in July and the third this week; the largest attack took place in May and directly hit the Kremlin.
Photos and video showed that one of the drones on Sunday had ripped off part of the facade of a modern skyscraper, IQ-Quarter, located 4.5 miles from the Kremlin.
Footage showed the moment the drone struck the building, causing a huge explosion, while a second video showed a gaping hole where it had hit.
Russia’s Ria-Novosti news agency reported the building’s tenants included several government agencies.
Igor Sushko, a Ukrainian fellow of the Wind of Change research group, a US think tank based in Washington DC, said the target had been a “secret Ministry of Economic Development office on the 10th floor of the skyscraper”.
He added: “At least six government ministries occupy this building. The officers are guarded by Putin’s Federal Protective Service (FSO). These claims could not be independently verified.
Flights were temporarily suspended at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, and the airspace over Moscow and the outlying regions was temporarily closed following the attack.
On Saturday, Ukrainian forces also announced they had struck the Chonhar Bridge between Crimea and Kherson, deep in the Russian occupied territories.
Russian reports of these strikes were notably absent, however, leading the Institute for the Study of War, a seminal analyst of the ongoing conflict, to suggest that “the Kremlin has directed Russian milbloggers to refrain from covering certain topics”.
