Washington is encouraging Kyiv by publicly ignoring the drone attack that allegedly targeted Moscow on Tuesday, asserted Russia’s envoy to the US, after Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the strikes on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the White House stated on Tuesday that it does not advocate strikes within Russia and is gathering facts on the situation.
Overview
According to Putin, the biggest drone strike ever launched by Ukraine on Moscow was an attempt to frighten and provoke Russia. The Russian President further emphasised that air defences surrounding the city would be strengthened.
Putin portrayed the attack, which brought the 15-month conflict in Ukraine all the way to the Russian capital, as a terrorist response to a recent Russian attack on the military intelligence headquarters of Ukraine.
He claimed that Ukraine intends to pursue a strategy to “intimidate Russia, Russian citizens, and [attack] residential buildings.” “This is clearly a sign of terrorist activity,” he added.
#Washington is encouraging #Kyiv by publicly ignoring the drone attack that struck several districts of Moscow, #Russia's envoy to the #US said https://t.co/1gjE6ALJKE
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) May 31, 2023
The strike on Moscow, which injured two people, occurred after Russia launched three air attacks in a day on Kyiv and 17 in May, killing two people and causing widespread devastation and fear.
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to Washington, stated on his Telegram channel, “What are these attempts to hide behind the phrase that they are ‘gathering information’?” “This is an encouragement for Ukrainian terrorists.”
Additionally, he claimed that by remaining silent about the drone strike on Moscow, Washington was inciting Kyiv to carry out more attacks like this.
Russia has repeatedly stated that what it calls the “collective West” is waging a proxy war against it by supplying arms and financing Ukraine.
According to analysts, the drone strike on Moscow highlighted the capital’s vulnerability and exposed apparent flaws in its air defences. A presidential advisor for Ukraine denied that Kyiv was directly responsible for the drone strike on Moscow. Still, he added that Ukraine was enjoying the situation and anticipated more to happen.
Russia has long accused what it calls the "collective West" of staging a proxy war against Moscow by supporting Ukraine with military and financial aid.#Russia #RussiaUkraineWar https://t.co/NNJwjj2uIL
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 31, 2023
White House Denies Allegations
A White House spokesperson said, “We saw the news and are still gathering information about what happened. As a general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia.”
The spokesperson pointed out Russian strikes on Kyiv and stated that Washington was “focused on providing Ukraine the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory.”
At a regular briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the US does not support Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using US- made weapons. She added that Washington communicates this to Kyiv both publicly and privately.
Though he did not expressly point out the Moscow drone attacks, UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated on Tuesday that Ukraine had the right to attack targets on Russian territory in self-defence. “Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself,” Cleverly said during a press briefing with his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital.
Despite a stalemate on the ground, both sides have increased their aerial attacks, with Russian forces positioned behind an extended line in Ukraine’s east and south.
Moscow describes the war as a “special military operation” intended to “denazify” Ukraine and safeguard Russian speakers. However, according to Kyiv and its supporters, it is an unprovoked territorial grab.