A rare drone attack jolted Moscow early Tuesday (May 30), causing only light damage but forcing evacuations as residential buildings were struck in the Russian capital for the first time . The Kremlin, meanwhile, pursued its with a third assault on the city in 24 hours.

The Russian Defense Ministry said five drones were shot down in Moscow and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. President Vladimir Putin called it a B次元官网网址渢erroristB次元官网网址� act by Kyiv.

The attack, while causing only what Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said was B次元官网网址渋nsignificant damageB次元官网网址� to several buildings, brought the war home to civilians in RussiaB次元官网网址檚 capital.

Two people received treatment for unspecified injuries but did not need hospitalization, he said in a Telegram post, adding that residents of two high-rise buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated.

Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, said some of the drones were B次元官网网址渟hot down on the approach to Moscow.B次元官网网址�

Ukraine made no direct comment on the attack, which would be one of its deepest and most daring strikes into Russia since the Kremlin launched its more than 15 months ago.

Putin said MoscowB次元官网网址檚 air defense B次元官网网址渨orked in a satisfactory way,B次元官网网址� but added it is B次元官网网址渃lear that our task is to plug the gapsB次元官网网址� in the system.

B次元官网网址淭he Kyiv regime B次元官网网址� attempts to intimidate Russian citizens and strikes at civilian buildings,B次元官网网址� he said at a public event, responding to a question from the head of a Kremlin-allied think tank. B次元官网网址淚t is, of course, a clear indication of terrorist activity.B次元官网网址�

Putin claimed TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 Kyiv attack was in response to Russia striking UkraineB次元官网网址檚 military intelligence headquarters days earlier. But Andrii Cherniak, a Ukrainian intelligence representative, said the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 forces failed to hit the building because its missiles were shot down.

Asked by The Associated Press whether there is high-level concern that the invasion of Ukraine is endangering Russian civilians, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that attacks on Russia reinforce the need to prosecute the war.

Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 policy is to play down the attacks.

B次元官网网址淵ou ask, why is Putin behaving like this, does he really not understand and fear the consequences?B次元官网网址� she wrote in a Telegram post. B次元官网网址淎pparently he isnB次元官网网址檛 afraid, and everything is built on the idea that has been voiced more than once about a patient people who will understand everything and endure everything.B次元官网网址�

Still, the attacks raised questions about the effectiveness of RussiaB次元官网网址檚 air defenses.

A senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, told Russian business news site RBC that B次元官网网址渨e have a very big country and there will always be a loophole where the drone can fly around the areas where air defense systems are located.B次元官网网址�

Kartapolov said the purpose of the attacks was to unnerve the Russian people. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an intimidation act aimed at the civilian population,B次元官网网址� RBC quoted him as saying. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 designed to create a wave of panic.B次元官网网址�

Moscow residents reported hearing explosions before dawn. Police were seen working at one site of a crashed drone in southwest Moscow. An area near a residential building was fenced off, and police put the drone debris in a cardboard box before carrying it away.

At another site, apartment windows were shattered and there were scorch marks on the buildingB次元官网网址檚 front.

It was the second reported attack on Moscow. Russian authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin on May 3 in what they . Ukraine denied it was behind that attack.

Last week, the Russian border region of Belgorod was the target of one of the most serious cross-border raids since the war began, with two far-right pro-Ukrainian paramilitary groups claiming responsibility. Officials in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar near annexed Crimea said two drones struck there on Friday, damaging residential buildings.

Other drones have multiple times. In December, Russia claimed it had shot down drones at airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions in western Russia. Three soldiers were reported killed in the attack in Saratov, which targeted an important military airfield.

Before that, Russia reported downing a drone that targeted the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

Ukrainian military analysts, though unable to confirm Kyiv had launched the drones against Moscow, said the attack may have involved UJ-22 drones, which are produced in Ukraine and have a maximum range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

Analyst Oleh Zhdanov said some UJ-22s are capable of reaching B次元官网网址淢oscow and beyond,B次元官网网址� although he noted they can fly only half as far and carry half the payload of the Iranian-made Shahed drones used in the war by Russia.

Even so, Zhdanov told AP that B次元官网网址渢he myth has been dispelledB次元官网网址� of the Russian capitalB次元官网网址檚 invulnerability.

Since February, when a UJ-22 crashed 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Moscow, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly approached the Russian capital.

The White House National Security Council said in a statement that it was still gathering information about what happened in Moscow, but generally B次元官网网址渨e do not support attacks inside of Russia.B次元官网网址� It noted that RussiaB次元官网网址檚 bombardment of Kyiv was the 17th round of attacks this month, B次元官网网址渕any of which have devastated civilian areas.B次元官网网址�

Ukrainian officials said the pre-dawn air raid on Kyiv killed at least one person, wounded 11 others and sent residents again .

At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv in the latest attack on the Ukrainian capital. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of 31 drones, mostly in the Kyiv area, the air force said.

Before daylight, buzzing drones could be heard in the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.

The heavy destruction in Kyiv contrasted with what was seen in Moscow. In the Ukrainian capital, burned-out cars, glass and debris littered the street outside a building where apartments were wrecked; in Moscow, only a few broken windows and scorched outer walls were evident, with repairs and repainting being done quickly to affected buildings.

A woman in KyivB次元官网网址檚 Holosiiv district was killed when she came onto her balcony B次元官网网址渢o look at drones being shot down,B次元官网网址� Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.

A high-rise in the same district caught fire after being hit by debris either from drones or interceptor missiles. The buildingB次元官网网址檚 upper two floors were destroyed, and people were feared to be buried in the rubble, the Kyiv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.

Resident Valeriya Oreshko told AP that even though the immediate threat was over, the attacks had everyone on edge.

B次元官网网址淵ou are happy that you are alive, but think about what will happen next,B次元官网网址� the 39-year-old said.

A resident who gave only her first name, Oksana, said the whole building shook when it was hit, advising others: B次元官网网址淕o to shelters, because you really do not know where (the drone) will fly.B次元官网网址�

Susie Blann And Joanna Kozlowska, The Associated Press

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