Russia blames Ukraine for early morning drone attacks on Moscow – live

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium News World Europe Stuti Mishra , Tara Cobham Sunday 30 July 2023 11:30 Comments Close Russian missiles hit apartment block and Ukrainian security service building in Dnipro Russia is blaming Ukraine for three drone attacks on Moscow in the early hours of Sunday morning. A security guard was injured and Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the capital was forced to close, according to Russia’s state news agency, while one of the buildings damaged was home to three government ministries as well as residential apartments, local media reported. The Russian Defence Ministry referred to the incident as an ‘attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime’ and said three drones targeted the city. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, who rarely if ever take responsibility for attacks on Russian soil. It was the fourth such attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fuelling concerns about Moscow’s vulnerability to attacks as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on into its eighteenth month. This comes after the head of Ukraine ‘s intelligence directorate told Ukrainian news site TSN that Kyiv ‘s forces are set to enter Crimea ‘soon’. Crimea is a key target of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which appears to be ramping up after months of slow progress. 1690708237 Russia is blaming Ukraine for three drone attacks on Moscow in the early hours of Sunday morning. A security guard was injured and Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the capital was forced to close, according to Russia’s state news agency, while one of the office buildings damaged was home to three government ministries as well as residential apartments, local media reported. One drone was shot down in the surrounding Moscow region by air defence systems and two others crashed into the outsides of two buildings in the Moskva-Citi business district in the capital, which is several miles from the Kremlin, causing ‘insignificant damage’, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The Russian Defence Ministry referred to the incident as an ‘attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime’ and said three drones targeted the city. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, who rarely if ever take responsibility for attacks on Russian soil. It was the fourth such attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fuelling concerns about Moscow’s vulnerability to attacks as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on into its eighteenth month. Emergencies services members gather outside a damaged building following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia Tara Cobham 30 July 2023 10:10 1690713035 Amid the ravages of war, Sergey, a seasoned Wagner mercenary, found himself grappling with the relentless violence that has become a way of life and death on the front line. The savage conflict, the sense of betrayal from the Kremlin, and rumours of plots, all combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread. At the end he decided to abandon the Wagner group and the savage, meat-grinding combat of Donbas where corpses piled up, and towns and cities were razed. With the future of the mercenary group in the balance after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed march on Moscow and fear of future retribution, Sergey cannot forget the terrible things he witnessed in the months of bloody conflict. Kim Sengupta meets a fighter – a father of two – who has recently left the mercenary group and hears about the daily routine of ‘fight, eat, pray’ on some of the fiercest frontlines in the war Tara Cobham 30 July 2023 11:30 1690711132 In June, a catastrophic explosion destroyed the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, flooding huge areas of land. As the flood waters recede, Bel Trew has travelled to the affected areas to find shellshocked Ukrainians trying to put their lives back together. Homes and businesses have been destroyed by the floods, with many citizens displaced. It’s also destroyed huge swathes of agricultural land that Ukraine needed to grow grain and crops for worldwide distribution. And on the horizon, fears about the occupied nuclear power plant linger. In June, a catastrophic explosion destroyed the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, flooding huge areas of land. As the flood waters recede, Bel Trew has travelled to the affected areas to find shellshocked Ukrainians trying to put their lives back together. Homes and businesses have been destroyed by the floods, with many citizens displaced. It’s also destroyed huge swathes of agricultural land that Ukraine needed to grow grain and crops for worldwide distribution. And on the horizon, fears about the occupied nuclear power plant linger. Watch On The Ground on Independent TV – across desktop, mobile and connected TV. Bel Trew in Ukraine 30 July 2023 10:58 1690709435 Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the Russian Navy would receive 30 new ships this year. Putin was speaking at a ceremony in St Petersburg to mark Russia’s annual Navy Day after reviewing a parade of warships on the River Neva. Tara Cobham 30 July 2023 10:30 1690704046 Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared to downplay not attending an economic summit in Johannesburg next month amid a controversy over an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, saying he doesn’t think his presence there is “more important than my presence here, in Russia.’ Mr Putin’s remarks come more than a week after South African authorities said he will not attend the 22-24 August gathering, which brings together a bloc of developing economies known as BRICS, because of the warrant, even though he was initially invited. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday appeared to downplay not attending an economic summit in Johannesburg next month amid a controversy over an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 09:00 1690700430 Ukrainian soldiers fired UK-donated AS90 self-propelled artillery guns to mark the end of their training in south-west England. Uniformed troops wearing ear defenders blasted rounds into the air as Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag was pictured flying above one of the artillery units on Thursday. British Army instructors taught the 72 Ukrainian army personnel how to operate and maintain the guns when in combat, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The Ukrainian soldiers have been trained to use British donated AS90 self-propelled artillery guns. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 08:00 1690699013 Russia’s defence ministry said it had brought down three Ukrainian drones in the early hours today that had been trying to carry out what it called “a terrorist attack” on Moscow. Nobody was hurt and there was only minor damage to the façade of two office buildings in the Moskva-Citi business district, Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, said. The area, several miles from the Kremlin, is known for its modern high-rise towers. The fact that hostile drones have in recent months begun reaching the heart of the Russian capital, even if they do not inflict serious damage, is uncomfortable for the authorities who have told the public that Russia is in full control of what they call its “special military operation” against Ukraine. “There were no casualties or injuries,” Mr Sobyanin said in a short statement on the incident. The defence ministry said two drones had crashed in the Moskva-Citi district after being brought down using radio-electronic equipment. Air defences had shot down one more in the air over the Odintsovo area in the Moscow region, it said. “On the morning of 30th July, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime using unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the city of Moscow was foiled,” the ministry said in its statement. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 07:36 1690696830 Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country, an official said Saturday night, according to Associated Press. The kingdom and Kyiv did not immediately acknowledge the planned talks. The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorisation had been given to publicly discuss the summit. Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official said. A high-level official from US president Joe Biden’s administration also is expected to attend, the official said. Planning for the event is being overseen by Kyiv and Russia is not invited, the official said. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 07:00 1690693230 A drone attack in Moscow damaged two office blocks, its mayor said early morning today. Russia’s government officials alleged the attack was carried out by Ukraine. The drone attack led to an airport in the Russian capital reportedly closed to traffic. ‘Facades of two city office towers were slightly damaged. There are no victims or injured,’ Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted on Telegram, AFP reported. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 06:00 1690689630 Russian president Vladimir Putin said an initiative by African countries could be a basis for peace amid the war on Ukraine but claimed attacks from Kyiv made a cessation of hostilities ‘virtually impossible’. Mr Putin was addressing a press conference yesterday after holding a meeting with African leaders in St Petersburg and listening to their calls for Moscow to take steps ahead with their plan. ‘There are provisions of this peace initiative that are being implemented. But there are things that are difficult or impossible to implement,’ he said. He said the ceasefire was one of the points in the African initiative. ‘But the Ukrainian army is on the offensive, they are attacking, they are implementing a large-scale strategic offensive operation… We cannot cease fire when we are under attack,’ he said. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 05:00 Emergencies services members gather outside a damaged building following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia REUTERS Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in