Moscow Says It Has Intensified Strikes on Ukraine in Response to Attacks on Russia

There's been an uptick of Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Monday that Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

Shoigu said that amid the stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive, Ukraine “backed by its Western sponsors has concentrated on terror attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russian cities and settlements.”

“Considering the latest developments, additional measures have been taken to enhance protection from air and sea attacks. The intensity of strikes on Ukrainian military sites, including those used as the base for these terror attacks has been raised several-fold,” he said.

Shoigu added that Russia had launched strikes in retaliation for the latest Ukrainian bombing of the Crimean Bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian mainland. In recent weeks, there has also been an uptick in drone attacks on Moscow.

After the latest drone attack hit Moscow on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war was “returning” to Russia. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said the idea of the attacks on Moscow was to impact Russians who felt the war was distant.

Ukrainian officials used to be more hesitant to take credit for operations inside Russia, but Ukraine’s military intelligence warned last week that drone attacks on Moscow would “continue and increase in scale.”

Shoigu also claimed on Monday that Ukraine has lost more than 20,800 troops in its counteroffensive. But the number isn’t confirmed as neither side has been sharing their own casualty figures.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.