MOSCOW: Moscow said Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory would “not be possible” without US and NATO help, escalating its rhetoric after reporting it had downed five drones near the capital on Tuesday (Jul 4).
Ukraine meanwhile accused Russia of planning “dangerous provocations” at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, while Russia in turn claimed Kyiv was planning to attack the facility, Europe’s largest.
Moscow said the West had enabled Ukraine to carry out the drone attacks, after earlier condemning what it called a “terrorist act”.
“These attacks would not be possible without the help provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and its NATO allies,” the Russian foreign ministry said, claiming the West was “training drone operators and providing the necessary intelligence to commit such crimes.”
It marks the latest in a series of recent drone attacks – including on the Kremlin and Russian towns near the border with Ukraine – that Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.
The Russian military said it had downed all five drones and that there was no damage or casualties from the early-morning attacks.
Emergency services cited by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency said one of the drones was “neutralised” at Kubinka, about 40km from Vnukovo international airport, where air traffic was briefly disrupted.
In early May, two drones were shot down above the Kremlin, and later the same month drones hit Moscow high-rises.
ZAPORIZHZHIA ACCUSATIONS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning “dangerous provocations” at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“We agreed to keep the situation under maximum control together with the IAEA” UN nuclear watchdog, he added after his phone call with the French leader.
For all the latest world News Click Here
