MOSCOW: Russia said Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory would “not be possible” without NATO and the US assistance, intensifying its rhetoric following reporting it had downed as many as five drones near the capital city on Tuesday.
Moscow Blames Washington, NATO for Drone Attacks
Russia accused the Western countries of enabling Kyiv to carry out the drone strikes, following earlier denouncing what it called an “act of terrorism”.
“These drone strikes would not be possible without the support provided to Ukraine’s regime by Washington and NATO,” the Russian ministry for foreign affairs said, adding the Western countries were providing “training to drone operators and also giving the essential intelligence to carry out such crimes.”
It marks the latest drone strikes — including on the Russian towns near the border with Ukraine — that Russia has blamed on Ukraine.
The Russian army claimed it had downed as many as five drones and that there was no damage from the early-morning strikes.
In May, at least two drones were also shot down above the Kremlin.
On the other hand, Ukraine said early Tuesday that Moscow had also launched twenty-two Iranian “Shahed” drones and three missiles at the Donetsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia areas.
It claimed that its troops had “destroyed” sixteen of the drones in the region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said 43 people, including 12 kids, were wounded in a Russian attack on the town of Pervomaisky in the Kharkiv area.
Officials also said that Russian shelling on a residential zone in the southern city of Kherson had also killed two people.
