Putin's first statement on drone attack in Moscow was to call it an 'terrorist act'

Russian leader Vladimir Putin was the first to comment on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the Russian capital Moscow and surrounding settlements. Putin said the attack was an terrorist act.  In the statement made by the Russian Defense Ministry about the attack, "The Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack with drones on objects in Moscow this morning."

It was noted that 8 aircraft-type UAVs participated in the attack, and it was reported that all UAVs were shot down. 3 UAVs were diverted from their targets with electronic warfare tools and lost control, "5 UAVs were shot down with the Pantsir-S air defense missile system in the Moscow region."

DRONE ATTACK ON MOSCOW 

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced on his social media account that some buildings suffered minor damage as a result of drone attacks in the early morning hours.

Noting that the city's emergency officials were on the scene, Sobyanin shared that the situation was being assessed. Sobyanin said, "No one has been seriously injured so far. Please trust only official sources and do not spread unconfirmed information."

Andrey Vorobyev, the Governor of Moscow Region, said on his social media account that the explosions heard in some areas belonged to air defense systems. In his statement, Vorobyev said:

"Several drones were shot down on the approach to Moscow. I ask the public to remain calm. All emergency services are working. We will provide information."

Russian news agencies reported that drones hit residential buildings on two different streets in Moscow. In the news reports, it was stated that there was damage to the facades of the buildings hit by the drones, but there were no injured or dead.

No explanation was given as to where the drones came from.

Some social media sources claimed that there were 25 drone attacks on the city and that most of them were shot down by air defense systems, and some of the drones were armed.

Some images of drones flying in the air and being shot down in the Moscow region appeared on social media.

'WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ATTACK'

Advisor to the Ukrainian President's Office Mikhail Podolyak said that Ukraine had nothing to do with the drone attack on Moscow. Podolyak, speaking via video conference on a television program, evaluated the drone attack on Moscow this morning.

Stating that this attack was "insignificant" for Ukraine, Podolyak said, "But it is very important to understand that we are being pulled into the age of artificial intelligence. Perhaps some UAVs are not ready to attack Ukraine and want to return to their creators. UAVs are smart in terms of artificial intelligence and clearly understand the consequences of their actions."

"People thought that they could play a one-sided game, that it was possible to destroy a sovereign state with impunity," Podolyak said, adding that "no one takes Russia seriously anymore, and Russia will gradually pay for what it did in Ukraine."

Asked whether Ukraine was involved in the drone attack on Moscow today, Mikhail Podolyak said, "We are involved in artificial intelligence, but not in the attacks. We watch the attacks with pleasure and predict that they will increase."