Kyiv: ‘Drone Attacks on Moscow Will Continue and Increase in Scale’

Drone attacks such as the ones that struck Moscow in the early hours of Monday morning will “continue and increase in scale,” Ukrainian military intelligence has told Kyiv Post.

The Russian capital was rocked by two explosions after a drone crashed in Komsomolsky Prospekt, near the defense ministry, while another hit a business center on Likhacheva Street near one of Moscow’s main ring roads.

Ukraine has said the attack was a "special operation" carried out by Kyiv's forces.

Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), told Kyiv Post the strikes exposed Moscow’s weak air defenses, something Ukraine intends to take advantage of.

“The strikes on the key facilities of Russia’s security sector located in Moscow testify to the fact that the Putin regime is unable to fully control the sky even for the protection of the most important facilities,” he said.

Referring to “cotton” – a Ukrainian word play referring to explosions – in Moscow, he added: “Obviously, this situation will continue and increase in scale.”

One unverified video posted to social media appeared to show a drone flying freely above Moscow with no sign of air defenses trying to intercept.

“A Kyiv regime attempt to carry out a terrorist act using two drones on objects on the territory of the city of Moscow was stopped,” Russia’s defense ministry said.

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The Russian Defense Ministry published a video showing a Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel (sea drone) equipped with an R-73 anti-aircraft missile attacking Russian helicopter in the Black Sea.

“Two Ukrainian drones were suppressed and crashed. There are no casualties.”

Drones also struck an ammunition dump in Russian-occupied Crimea in the early hours of Monday morning.

The attacks came a day after President Zelensky vowed to “retaliate” for Sunday’s Russian missile strike on the port city of Odesa.

"Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral... There can be no excuse for Russian evil," he said.

"As always, this evil will lose. And there will definitely be a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa. They will feel this retaliation."

Odesa has been bombed several times since the start of the invasion, and in January the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO designated the historic centre of the city as a World Heritage in Danger site.

The city has come under repeated attack since Moscow pulled out of a grain export deal last week.

Ukraine has accused Russia of targeting grain supplies and infrastructure vital to the Black Sea deal.

Moscow said Sunday it hit all intended targets in Ukraine's port city Odesa port, claiming the sites were being used to prepare "terrorist acts" against Russia.