Foiled Kyiv’s counteroffensive drone attack, claims Moscow
The drone attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, was the first known assault on the Russian capital since an abortive mutiny launched 11 days ago by the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
MOSCOW: Russian air defences on Tuesday foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city’s international airports, officials said.
The drone attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, was the first known assault on the Russian capital since an abortive mutiny launched 11 days ago by the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
ities in Ukraine, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn’t say whether it launched the drone raid.
The Russian Defence Ministry said four of the five drones were downed by air defences on the outskirts of Moscow and the fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced down. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage.
The drone attack prompted authorities to temporarily restrict flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and divert flights to two other Moscow main airports. Vnukovo is about 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of Moscow. In May, two daring drone attacks jolted the Russian capital, in what appeared to be Kyiv’s deepest strikes into Russia.
The raid came as Ukrainian forces have continued probing Russian defences in the south and the east of their country in the initial stages of the counteroffensive operation.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s Security and Defence Council, charged that the military was currently focusing on destroying Russian equipment and personnel and claimed that the last few days of fighting have been particularly “fruitful”.
Brussels: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will stay in office for another year, the 31-nation military alliance decided on Tuesday. Stoltenberg said in a tweet that he is “honoured by NATO Allies’ decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024”. Stoltenberg’s term had been due to expire last year but was extended then to keep a steady hand at the helm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts had been due to name a successor when they meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. But the world’s biggest security organisation makes decisions by consensus, and no agreement could be found on a new candidate.
