Russia is warning of “tough retaliatory measures” against Ukraine following drone strikes in Moscow and Crimea early Monday morning.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, two Ukrainian unmanned combat aerial vehicles attempted to attack facilities early Monday morning in Moscow but were stopped by radio-electronic warfare systems. No casualties were reported, though two nonresidential buildings were struck.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said a “helicopter-type drone,” with no explosives also fell on a cemetery in the city of Zelenograd.
Separately, Russian authorities claimed Kyiv launched drones in Russian-annexed Crimea, hitting an ammunition depot and causing a traffic backup on a major highway and a railway crossing in the Black Sea peninsula. There were no casualties reported, but a private home was damaged by drone fragments.
Multiple villages within a 3-mile radius of the depot were ordered to evacuate, according to Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Ukraine has since claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a telegram post Monday, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhalio Fedoro signaled Russia was “less and less able to protect the skies of the invaders.”
“The military and political leadership of Ukraine has yet against resorted to terrorist methods to intimidate the civilian population,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding Russia “reserves the right to take tough retaliatory measures.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Investigative Committee of Russia is opening criminal proceedings in connection with Monday’s attacks.
This is the second drone attack on the Russian capital this month, following a strike on July 4 where five drones were taken down on the outskirts of Moscow. Flights were temporarily restricted at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and diverted to two other Moscow airports as a result.
The Associated Press contributed.