On 30 May 2023, amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Russian capital of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

was subject to several

drone strikes Drone warfare is a form of warfare using military drones or military robots. The robots may be remote controlled or have varying levels of autonomy during their mission. Types of robots include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponi ...

. At least eight drones were involved in the attacks. Five of the drones were shot down by air missiles, the other three were suppressed by electronic warfare systems. Russia blamed Ukraine. Moscow was also targeted and struck by drones numerous times in June, July, August, and September.

Background

In February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. Earlier in May 2023, two drones were shot down over the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

in what Russia claims was an attack perpetrated by Ukraine.

Attacks

The same day as the strikes, the Ukrainian capital of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

faced its third air raid within 24 hours. Videos posted to social media showed a drone exploding in a field outside Moscow, and others flying over houses in

Rublyovka Rublevka or Rublyovka () is the unofficial name of a prestigious residential area in the western suburbs of Moscow, Russia, located along Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway, Podushkinskoe, 1st Uspenskoe and 2nd Uspenskoe highways. There is no official ...

, a wealthy district in southwestern Moscow.

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...

, Russian minister of defence, claimed Ukraine had used eight drones, though none had hit their targets. The ministry said that five drones had been shot down, and the other three had their systems jammed. According to a

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

channel with links to the security services, around 25 drones were involved, with 15 shot down approaching Moscow or over the city according to Russia.

Mayor of Moscow The Mayor of Moscow () is the head and the highest-ranking official of Moscow, who leads the Government of Moscow, the main executive body of the city. Moscow is both a city and separate federal subject, according to the Constitution of ...

Sergey Sobyanin Sergey Semyonovich Sobyanin (; born 21 June 1958) is a Russian politician, serving as the 3rd mayor of Moscow since 21 October 2010. Sobyanin previously served as the governor of Tyumen Oblast (2001–2005), Head of the Russian presidential ad ...

stated that two people suffered minor injuries after drones crashed into residential buildings. Three residential buildings had some windows shattered as a result of the attacks. Attacking aircraft resembled the Ukrainian long-range Beaver drone.

Reactions

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

, claimed that the strikes showed Ukraine was attempting "to intimidate Russia", saying that it was "clearly a sign of terrorist activity" and that Russia would strengthen air defences around Moscow. Putin vowed to retaliate against Ukraine for the attacks. The foreign ministry of Russia stated that support for Ukraine was "pushing the Ukrainian leadership towards ever more reckless criminal deeds including acts of terrorism". Leader of the Russian mercenary

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a ...

, criticized the Russian defence ministry for its failure to prevent the attack. In response to the attacks, Ukrainian presidential adviser

Mykhailo Podolyak Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak (; born 16 February 1972) is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and negotiator, serving as the advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. In 2022, he became one of the representatives of Ukraine ...

said in an online interview that "of course we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks. But of course we have nothing directly to do with this". A spokesperson for the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

said that information was still being gathered on the attacks, saying that "as a general matter, he United States doesnot support attacks inside of Russia]". A French official said that French military support to Ukraine should not be used to attack Russia. Russian ambassador to the United States, Russia's ambassador to the United States,

Anatoly Antonov Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov ( rus, Анатoлий Ивaнович Антoнов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ɐnˈtonəf; born 15 May 1955) is a Russian military official and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United ...

, called the American refusal to condemn Ukraine for the attack "an encouragement for Ukrainian terrorists".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscow drone strikes, 30 May 2023

Drone strikes Drone warfare is a form of warfare using military drones or military robots. The robots may be remote controlled or have varying levels of autonomy during their mission. Types of robots include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponi ...

May 2023 in Russia Attacks on buildings and structures in 2023 2023 drone strikes Airstrikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Drone strikes in Russia 2023 airstrikes 2023 controversies Military history of Moscow Military operations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2023

Background

Attacks

Reactions

See also

References