Russia claims Ukraine hit Moscow… again

Another day and another report of Ukraine allegedly launching a drone strike on Moscow, deep within Russia’s territory. The Mayor of Moscow told state media that two drones launched from Ukraine reached Moscow this morning before Russia’s military jammed them causing them to go out of control and crash. One reportedly went down on a highway while the other struck an unoccupied office building, causing significant damage to the upper floors. If true, this would be the second time this month that Ukraine has struck the Russian capital. But at least thus far, Kyiv isn’t taking credit for the strike, leaving us to wonder if they really executed the attack or if someone else is responsible. (Associated Press)

Russian authorities accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow early Monday that saw one of the aircraft fall near the Defense Ministry’s main headquarters, while the Russian military launched new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties when the drones struck two nonresidential buildings. The Defense Ministry claimed that the military jammed both attacking drones, forcing them to crash.

Russian media reported that one of the drones fell on the Komsomolsky highway near Moscow’s center, close to the main Defense Ministry building. Another drone hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting its upper floors.

I am once again reminded of the hilarious nature of the Kremlin daring to file international complaints about Ukraine striking targets inside of Russia’s borders. They have been bombing Ukraine into rubble for roughly a year and a half and killing tens or hundreds of thousands of people. And now they’re upset because part of an empty office building was blown up? This is a war and Russia started it. Bad things happen in war, as my father would frequently tell me.

We’ve been giving Ukraine plenty of drones and training their troops in their use, so it’s certainly possible that might be all that’s going on here. But why wouldn’t Zelensky take credit for the strike? It’s not as if he’s not entitled to strike back, despite NATO’s absurd demands that he not do so. But if it wasn’t Ukraine, who else would have a motivation to attack Moscow? Some anti-war dissidents inside of Russia? Disgruntled members of the Wagner Group? Ukrainska Pravda described the attack as “a special operation by Ukrainian military intelligence.”

At the same time that this attack was taking place, another drone strike hit an ammunition depot in northern Crimea. The blast damaged part of a major highway that runs through the region and closed down traffic for a few hours. It wasn’t really a significant amount of damage, but the timing suggests that the Moscow attack really was pulled off by Ukraine and the two were launched as a simultaneous operation. Of course, drone strikes are pretty much all the defensive forces have going for them at the moment since the Ukrainian counteroffensive has effectively stalled.

At the same time that all of this was taking place, the Russians were launching drone strikes of their own. This time they destroyed a grain silo located on the Danube River near one of Ukraine’s southern ports. This will only amplify the ongoing food crisis in the region with Russia threatening to attack cargo ships in the Black Sea. Don’t expect any significant changes or concessions from Moscow at this point. Just this morning, Vladimir Putin published an op-ed on the Kremlin website about it. He wrote that the grain deal “has lost its meaning” and that he wants Russian grain to replace Ukrainian grain in the region because they are predicting a bumper crop.