About 100 Ukrainian drones tried to attack Moscow on May 9, almost all attacks were prevented, said Major General of Aviation, Chairman of the Presidium of "Officers of Russia" Sergei Lipovoy. He is quoted by RIA Novosti.
According to Lipovoy, the May 9 attacks were attempted from both Ukraine and the Moscow region, in the hope that the drones “could somehow get to Red Square and cause some damage there.”
“As a result of the actions of our air defense systems, as a result of the actions of our electronic warfare units <…> some were neutralized, planted, and some were simply destroyed.”
The major general added that Ukraine for the first time used American-designed drones with a maximum range of up to 800 km. He also claims that part of the UAV was shot down in the Belgorod region, several drones were "neutralized" on the territory of the Kursk region, on the territory of Voronezh and on the territory of the Kaluga region. “The holiday passed without remarks,” the general emphasized.
Lipovoy also commented on the attempted strike on the Kremlin on the night of May 3. Two drones were launched in the Moscow region, one UAV was reconnaissance, and the second was a strike UAV, with “some amount of explosives,” he explained.
Earlier, Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said that Ukrainian troops did not plan to attack Moscow on May 9. According to him, if Ukraine wanted to do something in Moscow on May 9, the effect would have been seen.
Due to an attempted drone attack on the Kremlin on May 3 this year, the air part of the Victory Parade was canceled. The size of the launched UAVs and the likely absence of a warhead indicate that they were launched not from Ukraine, but at most from the Moscow region, Sergei Tovkach, CEO of Avianovatsiya, a developer of unmanned aerial vehicles, explained to The Insider. According to him, the drones were controlled manually and could use forbidden frequencies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a closed meeting with chief editors of propaganda publications, said that there was nothing special about the UAV that tried to attack the Kremlin. The answer gave the impression that Putin did not attach so much importance to the drone attack, said Andrey Kolesnikov, a Kremlin pool journalist for Kommersant.
In total, since April 29, more than 25 reports of incidents with drones in 10 regions have appeared in open sources. The Insider mapped out the attacks:
Also on the night of May 11, the Bryansk region was attacked by UAVs, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said. According to him, a Ukrainian drone attacked the Klintsovsk oil depot of JSC Bryansknefteprodukt of PJSC Oil Company Rosneft, and a tank car for oil products was damaged. Also, another Ukrainian drone fired at the administrative building in Starodub, probably the building where the military enlistment office of the Starodub district is located.