Russian Air Defense Found Lacking As Drone Attacks Hit Home

The effectiveness of Russia's air defense is being called into question after a large-scale drone attack targeted Moscow on Tuesday for the first time since President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

Shortly after Russian authorities accused Ukraine of targeting Moscow with drone strikes on Tuesday morning, Putin said that "there is still work to be done" in regard to the city's air defense systems. Russian officials offered mixed responses to the attack, with Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin blaming Russia's Defense Ministry for failing to prevent the drones from advancing.

Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of staging a "terrorist attack" with at least eight drones, some of which caused minor damage. The ministry said Russian forces shot down five of the drones. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no serious injuries. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the attacks.

The targets of the drone attack in Moscow included a residence of Putin and the mansions of his entourage on Rublyovka, reported the independent Russian Telegram channel "We can explain", which analyzed where the drones were spotted.

Tuesday's attack came after two drones crashed into the Kremlin in Moscow on May 3.

Putin accused Kyiv on Tuesday of attempting to provoke a mirror response from Moscow and suggested the city's air defenses needed to be strengthened.

"It's clear what needs to be done to beef up air defenses, and we will do it," he said.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, said the drone attack on Moscow showed Russia's air defenses are "outdated."

"Today's drone attack on Moscow as well as the fact that drones were able to reach it is a fail of Russian air defense," he tweeted on Tuesday.

"Russian air defense showed clearly that such drones are not an easy target for it, as these systems were not created to detect and destroy targets of this type. It was made to strike targets similar to those produced in the USSR, it is an outdated air defense system."

Gerashchenko wrote: "Putin and his people were unable to protect even their own residences and symbols of power. They know it and they know Russian people know it."

Prigozhin responded to the attack by criticizing Russia's defense ministry, calling on government officials to defend the country instead of "sitting quietly."

"Smelly scumbags! What are you doing?! Get your a**** up from the cabinets you've been put in to protect this country! You are the Ministry of Defense! You've done f*** all in order to advance! Why the f*** are you allowing the arrival of these UAVs to Moscow?!" Prigozhin said in an audio message published on a Telegram page he owns.

"The fact that they fly to your home in Rublyovka, to f*** with that, let your houses burn. What are regular people meant to do when UAVs with explosives crash into their houses? As a citizen, I'm deeply outraged that these scumbags calmly sit on their fat a**** smeared with expensive creams. Hence, I believe that the people have the full right to ask them these questions, to these m*****."

On state TV, Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyev claimed 32 drones were launched by Ukraine, some of which targeted the affluent Rublyovka neighborhood in the Moscow region.

Former Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin also criticized the advance of drones in Moscow, saying in a post on his Telegram channel: "Good morning, Moscow! I hope the sweet dreams will go away now? Wake up, country!"

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov defended Moscow's air defenses, saying that "everything worked properly, worked well...the air defense system also worked well."

Newsweek has contacted the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine for comment via email.

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