The Kyiv Independent news site on May 31 quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as condemning all attacks on civilians and civilian structures. The statement was made after the Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian military of using eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack Moscow in the early morning of May 30.
"Of course, we condemn any attacks on civilians and civilian objects anywhere. But I think it's important to point out that there is no comparison between the recent attacks in Moscow and the large-scale shelling that we continue to see in Ukrainian cities," he told a news conference.
Experts inspect a Moscow apartment building damaged in the attack on May 30.
Russia's accusations
Russia said it shot down five drones and caused three others to veer off course in an attack that injured two people. That same morning, Russia launched its 17th drone attack on Kyiv this month, killing one person and wounding 13, according to Ukrainian officials.
Quick view: What hot developments happened on day 461 of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine?
RT on May 31 quoted Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov as saying that Washington's statements after the UAV attack on Moscow "sounded like encouragement to the Ukrainians". He criticized: "No one believes the US slogans about not supporting Ukraine's attacks on Russian territory". According to the diplomat , the goal of the UAV attack was to "spread fear among Russians" and affect trust in the government.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the attack as an act of terrorism, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Western claims that weapons sent to Ukraine were not used to attack Russian territory as "a lie," according to TASS.
In a move aimed at Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said its military carried out a raid on "decision-making centers involved in plotting terrorist attacks," adding that "terrorist operations were carried out under the direct guidance of unidentified Western intelligence agencies." According to RT, President Putin said Russia attacked the headquarters of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate. Kyiv has not commented on this information.
President Putin says Ukraine launched UAVs to attack Moscow because Russia attacked Kyiv's defense intelligence headquarters
In another move, the Russian Interior Ministry has just issued a wanted notice for Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi and Army Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar rejected the arrests, saying they were a failed attempt by Moscow to exert psychological pressure.
US, Ukraine reject
According to Reuters, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, affirmed that Kyiv had "no direct involvement" in the UAV attack on Moscow. On the US side, a spokesman for the National Security Council commented on CNN that "in general, we do not support attacks inside Russia." A US State Department spokesman also affirmed this view.
France wants Europe to "awaken strategically"
The Guardian reported on May 31 that French President Emmanuel Macron wants to promote diplomacy and reassure Central and Eastern European countries that Paris understands the region's ever-changing security environment after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The leader wants to call for a "strategic awakening" and emphasize what France has done to protect NATO's eastern flank, including sending 1,250 soldiers to Romania and 300 soldiers to Estonia, as well as paving the way for the supply of battle tanks to Ukraine. He is expected to commit to Kyiv's victory and not accept a "frozen conflict" in Ukraine. In addition, President Macron said that Europe needs to do more to support ammunition production capacity and strengthen defense partnerships among members.
"We have been focused on providing the equipment and training necessary for Ukraine to regain its territorial sovereignty," the spokesman said. The US government said it was gathering relevant information, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said tersely that "we do not support attacks inside Russia."
Why hasn't the Ukrainian counteroffensive begun yet?
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that Ukraine "has a legitimate right to defend itself within its borders, but also has the right to move forces away from the border to destroy Russia's ability to move forces into Ukraine." Opposing the above statement, according to Reuters, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that any British official who promotes hostilities in Ukraine could be considered a legitimate military target.
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