by ReutersUkrainian drones struck wealthy districts of Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said in what a politician called the deadliest attack on the capital since World War Two, while Kiev was also hit from the air for the third time in 24 hours.
Since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into its neighboring countries in February 2022, the war has been fought largely inside Ukraine.
Airstrikes on targets far from the front have intensified amid a standoff on the ground with Russian forces along an extended line in Ukraine’s east and south.
One of the strategic southern locations Russian forces have controlled since the start of the invasion is the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, and on Tuesday the UN nuclear watchdog chief asked Ukraine and Russia to respect five principles for the station’s security. Said for Neither Ukraine nor Russia has committed to honoring the principles.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been trying for months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident from military activity such as the shelling at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council, Grossi said the principles included that there should be no attacks on or from the plant and that it should not be used as a base for heavy weapons and military equipment. He called for off-site power for the plant to remain available and safe.
Grossi said, “The nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant … remains extremely fragile and dangerous.” “Military activities are continuing in the area and may increase significantly in the near future.”
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, said: “Mr Grossi’s proposals to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant are in line with the measures we have already been implementing for a long time.”
Sergiy Kislitsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the principles “must be complemented with demands for the complete demilitarization and occupation of the station.”
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Injuries and evacuation in Moscow
Commenting on Tuesday morning’s airstrikes in Moscow, the Defense Ministry said eight drones sent by Ukraine and one targeting civilians were shot down or diverted by electronic jammers, although a Telegram channel linked to the security services , Baja said that there were more than 25.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Ukraine’s president, denied Kiev was directly involved, but said “we are happy to see the events” and predicted more such attacks.
According to the mayor of Moscow, two people were injured while some apartment blocks were temporarily evacuated. Residents said they heard loud bangs followed by the smell of petrol. Some people filmed a drone being shot down and a plume of smoke.
The drones targeted some of Moscow’s most prestigious districts, including the residences of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the elite. A spokesman said he was later in the Kremlin and received information about the attack.
Putin later said that Ukraine’s biggest ever drone attack on Moscow was an attempt to intimidate and provoke Russia, and that air defenses around the capital would be strengthened.
Civilian targets in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities have been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones and missiles since the early days of the war.
But Tuesday was only the second time Moscow came under direct fire.
In Washington, the White House said it was still gathering information on reports of the drone strike in Moscow.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing, “We do not support attacks inside Russia. That’s all. Time is up.” Washington is a major supplier of arms to Ukraine, on the condition that it use it for its own defense and to retake Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.
Russian lawmaker Maxim Ivanov called it the most serious attack on Moscow since Nazi Germany’s invasion of World War II, adding that no Russian could escape the “new reality”.
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Russian state television gave sober coverage of the attacks, and many Muscovites turned away from them. Olga, who said she lived near one of the drone collisions on Prosoyuznaya Street, called the attacks “logical, expected… what else were we waiting for?”
Meanwhile, Russia has put Ukraine’s top generals on a “wanted list”, the RIA news agency said.
17 air raids on the city of Kiev in May
Ukraine said four people were killed across the country in the latest attacks by Russia, while 34 were injured, including two children.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces said Ukrainian air defense shot down 29 of 31 Iranian-made Shaheed drones over Kiev.
A 33-year-old woman died on a balcony when debris from a destroyed Russian projectile hit a Kiev highrise, officials said.
Russia attacked Kiev 17 times with drones or missiles in May, mostly at night.
In a video address on Tuesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that some authorities were not doing enough to protect civilians during the airstrikes.
“Shelters should be accessible in cities. People should understand when and how the number and availability of shelters will increase,” he said, but did not elaborate.