Luxury houses owned by members of the Russian elite and one of the residences of President Vladimir Putin are located just a few kilometers from the place where drones were shot down yesterday during a major attack on the Russian capital, reports the "Moscow Times" portal, referring to a list of locations published by a member of the Russian of parliament.
Putin said yesterday that the biggest drone attack on Moscow so far was an attempt to intimidate and provoke Russia, and that the air defenses around the Russian capital will be strengthened. Putin said that Ukraine chose the path of "intimidating Russia, Russian citizens and attacking residential buildings."
Russian MP Maksim Ivanov said that these are the most serious attacks on Moscow since the invasion of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, adding that no Russian can escape the "new reality" now.
Mihailo Podoljak, an associate of the Ukrainian president, denied that Kiev was directly involved, but said that "we are following the events with pleasure" and predicted more such attacks.
Two people were injured in the attacks, and some apartment blocks were briefly evacuated," said the mayor of Moscow.
Although it is unclear whether the drones targeted Putin's residence or other nearby properties, the sound of air defense missiles and explosions from downed drones disturbed the sleep of many members of Russia's political and business elite.
The Russian Defense Ministry said five drones sent by Kiev targeting civilians were shot down or diverted by electronic devices, although Baza, a Telegram channel with security sources, reported that there were more than 25 drones.
According to the list of locations where the drones were shot down, published by MP Aleksandar Kinstein, the two aircraft were shot down just a few kilometers from Putin's residence in Novo Ogaryovo, where the Russian leader is believed to spend a lot of time.
Earlier this month, when two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was an assassination attempt on the president. Russian authorities predicted attacks on the president's residences, and according to Sirena Telegram channel, two "armored" air defense systems were installed in Novo Ogaryovo as well as near Putin's residence in Novgorod.
Although Peskov refused to say whether Putin was in Novo Ogaryovo when the attack took place, other members of the Russian elite were undoubtedly disturbed by the explosion, the "Moscow Times" points out.
Former Bolshoi Theater ballerina Anastasia Volochkova announced on Instagram that she was woken up by explosions. "Two hours ago I was woken up by terrible explosions!," she wrote, apparently unaware at the time that the capital was being targeted by drone attacks.
According to Kinstein's list, another drone was shot down a few kilometers from the residence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Traditionally, Soviet leaders and top bureaucrats were given residences west of Moscow, and today some of the richest and most powerful Russians live there.
Kinstein stated that the drone was shot down near the luxurious Greenfield complex, where the mansion of Alexey Miller, the head of Gazprom, is located. According to an investigation by the independent media "Proekt", billionaires Boris and Arkady Rotenberg - Putin's childhood friends - have villas just a few kilometers from Novo Ogarjevo. Nearby, as the "Moscow Times" writes, is the house of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Not all aircraft were shot down in the western part of Moscow, and several high-rise residential buildings in the southwestern part of the capital were damaged by drones.
Russian state television reported moderate coverage of the attacks, and many Muscovites commented on the attacks with a familiar conciliatory tone.
Olga, who told Reuters she lives near where one of the drones was shot down, called the attacks "logical, expected... what else should we expect?".
Criticism of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation in Ukraine is punishable by law, making public statements against Putin rare, Reuters points out. "You have to understand cause and effect, why everything happens," a middle-aged Muscovite who wished to remain anonymous told the British agency. "I think the attacks are the result of only one thing: the fact that our ruler started a war."
Most of the interlocutors of the British agency expressed sadness over the apparent escalation of the conflict. "The regime in Kyiv is already crossing all borders," said 59-year-old Natalija. "It is very sad since they are directing those drones at residential buildings, at the city, at civilians, where there are no military facilities".
During May, Russia attacked Kiev on 17 occasions with drones and rockets, mostly at night. The Ukrainian authorities announced that they shot down over 20 Iranian-made drones yesterday, and that 11 people were injured.
A 33-year-old woman was killed on the balcony when the remnants of the destroyed Russian missile hit the apartment building. Two floors were destroyed, and it is possible that people were trapped in the rubble, officials said.
The Ukrainian authorities claim that the Patriot anti-missile defense systems that arrived from the United States are 100 percent effective in intercepting missiles.
The White House said yesterday that it was still gathering information about the drone attacks in Moscow, stressing that Washington does not support attacks inside Russia. Washington is "focused on helping Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to regain their sovereign territory," the statement said.
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