Mapping known drone attacks in Moscowpublished at 12:16 British Summer Time 30 May 2023

12:16 BST 30 May 2023

Dozens of unverified videos have been circulating on social media allegedly showing multiple drone attacks in Moscow, as well as the aftermath of them.

By piecing together visual clues in the footage – for instance, the exterior of buildings and parks – we have confirmed the location of three incidents in the south-west of the Russian capital:

• A residential building hit on the outskirts of Moscow
• A high-rise apartment block, where a drone reportedly flew into an apartment on the 13th floor
• Another high-rise building, reportedly hit earlier this morning

We have also verified another piece of footage filmed on the western outskirts of the city. It shows an unidentified drone flying over private houses in a village which is home to more affluent Muscovites.

There have also been multiple reported sightings of drones around Moscow and its region.

We’ll bring you updates on those in due course.

Image source, .

Russia's President Vladimir Putin was briefed very early in the Kremlin this morning on the drone attacks on Moscow, his spokesman has said.

The drone attack targeted some of Moscow's wealthiest areas including a western zone where Putin and members of Russia's elite have residences, Reuters reports.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Today, of course, the president’s working day began very early.

"He received live information both from the defence ministry, from the relevant agencies, from the Moscow mayor and the governor of the Moscow Region, from the Emergencies Ministry."

Peskov said there were currently no plans for Putin to comment on the drone attack.

The Kremlin is claiming the drone attack was a "response" by Kyiv to a recent Russian hit in Ukraine.

"It is completely clear that we are talking about response acts by the Kyiv regime to very effective strikes on a command centre (in Ukraine)," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, without clarifying where the Russian strike took place.

A Ukrainian presidential aide has denied Kyiv was directly involved in Tuesday's drone attack on Moscow but said Ukraine was enjoying watching the events and predicted an increase in such attacks.

Image source, Reuters

Let's have a look at some comments from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) here in the UK which has highlighted pressures on Russia's finances due to its increased military spending.

In a daily update, the MoD cites figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute which reports Russian military spending grew by 9.2% in 2022 to $86.4bn (£70bn) adding this equates to 4.1% of Russia’s GDP.

It said Russia’s true military spending is highly uncertain due to the increased use of classified budget lines, especially since February 2022 [when Russia invaded Ukraine], and the lack of transparency.

Image source, YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said residents who were evacuated after the drone attacks in the Russian capital are beginning to return to their homes.

Sobyanin said on Telegram that emergency services have completed checks and specialists will start work to "eliminate minor damages in buildings as soon as possible".

Sobyanin said residents living in the Leninsky Prospekt building will be the first to return.

He added that no serious injuries among the residents have been reported so far, but two people had sought medical attention.

Putin's 'special military operation' is coming home to Russiapublished at 10:50 British Summer Time 30 May 2023

10:50 BST 30 May 2023

Frank Gardner
Security Correspondent

"A taste of their own medicine" is how many in Ukraine and the West will view the surprise drone attack on Moscow.

The fact that no one was killed, that there has been very little damage and Ukraine has not claimed responsibility is less important than the fact that it happened at all.

President Putin’s "special military operation" in a neighbouring country is coming home to Russia.

There is, of course, almost no comparison between this, together with an earlier, ineffective drone strike on the Kremlin on the one hand, and the colossal drone and missile strikes Russia is now launching daily on Ukraine’s civilian population on the other.

Yet any attack on Russia’s capital makes Nato nervous about the risks of escalation.

All the powerful, long-range weaponry it is supplying to Ukraine comes with the proviso that it is not to be aimed at Russia itself.

So far, all of Moscow’s "red lines" - warning of dire consequences for the West if it supplied Ukraine with this or that piece of equipment - have turned out to be just talk.

But if a drone or missile attack on Moscow did end up causing serious casualties this could propel the Ukraine war into dangerous new territory.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine in February last year, he assumed he could sweep into Kyiv in a matter of days.

But after a series of retreats, his initial invasion plan had appeared to have failed.

Here's a look at how the war has unfolded so far:

• In just a few weeks, Russian troops were in control of large areas of Ukraine, including the north-east of the country and the suburbs of Kyiv

• But they faced serious logistical problems as poorly motivated Russian troops suffered through food, water and ammunition shortages
• Ukrainian forces were also quick to deploy Western supplied weapons, which proved highly effective against Russia's advance
• Having failed to take Kyiv, Russia withdrew completely from the north
• Then, Ukraine had its first major success, pushing Russia back from Kharkiv and counter-attacking around Kherson
• Ukraine now controls Kherson and is largely containing the Russian advance in the east
• Senior Ukrainian army officials recently told the BBC it's ready to start a long-awaited counter-offensive against Russian forces

Image source, .

James Landale
Reporting from Kyiv

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, was on television last night and publicly asked the most senior commander of Ukrainian forces: "If the people of Kyiv can be given nightmares by the Russians, why are the citizens of Moscow having a rest?"

"The same things could be done to each of them, to feel what it means to live in conditions like this," he added, in his question to General Valerii Zaluzhny.

Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the drone attacks on Moscow.

Very rarely do they ever take responsibility for incidents or strikes that take place within Russian territory.

But one thing is clear: regardless of who is responsible, the people of Moscow this morning got a taste of what life is like for people in Kyiv almost every morning.

James Landale
Reporting from Kyiv

For most of May, Kyiv has suffered a relentless barrage of air strikes from Russia. And in recent days those missile and drone attacks have increased in frequency and scale.

The military authorities in Ukraine have largely focused their attention on maintaining and operating their air defences. Each missile or drone shot down from the sky saves lives.

But for all the resilience of the people of Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine, these attacks do have an accumulative impact.

People get tired. The strain grows.

So some in Ukraine have been looking for some kind of proactive response that could take the fight to Russia, ahead of any counter-offensive.

If you're just joining us, or are in need of a recap, here's a quick summary of what we know so far about the attacks:

• Russia's capital Moscow was hit by drone strikes early this morning, with at least two people injured and several buildings damaged
• The Kremlin has blamed the attacks on Ukraine - a claim denied by the Ukrainian authorities
• The Russian military says eight drones were used in the strikes, all of which were shot down by air defence or taken out with signal jamming technology

• The Ukrainian capital itself was hit overnight by a large attack from Russia, with air defence shooting down more than 20 Russian drones
• One person has been confirmed dead, in what was the 17th attack on Kyiv in May
• On Monday the head of Ukraine's intelligence services, Kyrolo Budanov, promised a swift response to the recent surge in missile strikes on the capital

The BBC Verify team is looking at reports of drone strikes in both Ukraine and Russia, to establish what we can and cannot confirm has taken place.

Here's a map of confirmed locations for three strikes in Moscow so far:

Image source, .

Some new images have been emerging from Ukraine's capital Kyiv, following a wave of attacks by Russian forces overnight.

Ukrainian officials said falling debris set buildings on fire as Ukraine's air defences intercepted more than 20 drones.

Emergency services earlier confirmed a 33-year-old woman was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in the strikes.

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, Kyiv City Military Administration

We've just had an update from Ukraine's national police on the overnight drone attack on the capital, Kyiv, in which at least one person was killed.

Police have confirmed that a 33-year-old woman was killed in the attack.

Ivan Vyhivskyi of Ukraine's national police said 13 people were also wounded, nine in the capital itself and four more in the Kyiv region.

He added that civilian cars, structures and residential buildings were among those hit and police and emergency services are working on site.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied claims that Ukraine was responsible for the drone attacks in Moscow.

Mykhailo Podolyak was asked about the strikes while appearing on a breakfast television show.

“We have nothing to do with this,” he said, but added that Kyiv is "watching with pleasure and forecast an increasing number of attacks”.

He also joked that perhaps some Russian drones – fired at Ukraine – had decided to “come back”.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

Looking a bit more at these drone attacks in Moscow, Dr Jack Watling - an expert on land warfare - hints this could be a new development in the war in Ukraine.

"There were a number of unmanned aerial devices (UAD) flown into Moscow with explosive payloads," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"We don't know what they were targeting yet, a proportion were intercepted by air defence systems, but some struck targets.

"Ukraine has struck airfields in Russia before, particularly strategic bombers which are not a huge distance from Moscow, but it hasn't attacked the capital before."

A senior member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office has denied that Ukraine was responsible for the Moscow attacks.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said "hundreds of lives" were saved by Ukraine's air defences, following "several" attacks by Russian forces.

In a video address late on Monday, the Ukrainian leader said US-made Patriot missiles ensured "100% downing of any Russian missiles".

"We are preparing new joint steps with our partners to strengthen our defence and for our active actions,” he said.

"There is no alternative to the complete liberation of our land.”

Here are some of the latest images coming to us from Russia this morning.

Below you can see Russian authorities responding to the drone attack which the Kremlin is blaming on Ukraine.

Image source, Reuters

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BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg describes how the windows of his home shook during explosions in Russia's capital Moscow.

He says the war in Ukraine has been "happening a long way away" from Moscow and hasn't directly impacted people's lives there.

"You feel as if the hostilities are coming much closer to home now," he adds.

A short time ago, Moscow's mayor said that no serious injuries had been reported following a drone strike in the Russian capital, which Russia's defence ministry has now blamed on Ukraine.

Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that two houses were hit, causing "minor damage to several buildings".

Residents were evacuated, he said, but "so far, no one has been seriously hurt".

He added: "Two people sought medical attention. Nobody needed hospitalization, the necessary assistance was provided on the spot."

The Russian defence ministry said Kyiv launched a "terrorist drone attack" on targets in Moscow, but Ukraine has not commented on the claims.

A drone attack on the Russian capital Moscow was launched by Ukraine, Russia's defence ministry has said.

News agency Reuters reported Russia's defence ministry saying: "This morning, the Kyiv regime launched a terrorist drone attack on targets in the city of Moscow.

"Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets.

"Another five drones were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region."

There were no reports of deaths.

Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia.

Image source, Reuters

We've been hearing from Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian MP who lives in Kyiv, who described last night's attacks on the capital as one of the roughest for a long time, and one which brought back feelings of anxiety.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that she opted to stay at home last night, rather than to seek shelter at one of Kyiv's metro stations.

"Only in the morning I realised how careless a decision that was," she said.

"We have become used to these nights where the air raid system goes off and we have learned to live with a trust with our air defence systems.

"The sound of drones is really unpleasant to hear in the night and we pray it doesn't hit our building.