A drone attack on Russia's capital, Moscow, that damaged non-residential buildings in the early hours of Monday is proof that President Vladimir Putin can't control the sky, Ukrainian intelligence has said.
These attacks will continue and increase in scale, Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, told the Kyiv Post.
Russia's defense ministry accused Kyiv of attempting to carry out a terrorist act using two drones on Monday. Officials said the pilotless devices struck non-residential buildings in Moscow and added that there were no casualties. Two Ukrainian drones were suppressed and crashed, the ministry said.
Russia's state-run news agency Tass said one drone fell close to the defense ministry, in Komsomolsky Prospekt.
Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia, and Kyiv has not officially commented on the latest incident.
But Yusov said the strikes on the key facilities of Russia's security sector 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."
"Obviously, this situation will continue and increase in scale," Yusov added.
Newsweek contacted Yusov via Facebook for additional comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said earlier that Kyiv would retaliate for a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa on Sunday morning. It killed two people and severely damaged a UNESCO-listed Orthodox cathedral. Kyiv described the building's destruction as a "war crime that will never be forgotten and forgiven."
Russia blamed Ukraine for another drone attack on Moscow on May 30. It marked the first time the capital was hit in a large-scale drone strike since the war began in February 2022.
In that incident, targets included a residence of Putin and the mansions of his entourage on Rublyovka. The independent Russian Telegram channel "We can explain" analyzed where the drones were spotted.
Putin told Russia's State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) at the time that he was concerned the drone attacks were an attempt by Ukraine to evoke a response from Russia. "They are provoking us into taking mirror actions. We will see what to do about it," the Russian leader said.
Ukraine didn't claim responsibility for that attack.
Separately on Monday, Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-installed head of Crimea, said an ammunition depot in the Dzhankoi region of the annexed Black Sea peninsula was hit in a drone attack. Residents were evacuated within a five-kilometer (3.1-mile) radius of the damaged facility.
Newsweek contacted Russia's foreign ministry via email for comment.
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