Smoke rises from a drone strike on Russia’s capital Moscow, May 30, 2023

EA on Pat Kenny Show: Russia Can’t Win Its Ukraine War

Monday’s Coverage: Russia Launches 15th and 16th Aerial Assault on Kyiv in May

Map: Institute for Study of War

UPDATE 1225 GMT:

Footage of this morning’s drone attack on Moscow points to a long-range Ukrainian capability for the operation.

Video shows a Ukrainian-manufactured UJ-22 drone in flight during the attack.

The UJ-22 has a range of 800 km (496 miles) and can fly for six hours. It can carry a payload of about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), such as six RPG-7VM grenades or four 82-mm mortar mines.

In February, a UJ-22 crashed about 100 km (62 miles) from Moscow after travelling about 460 km (285 miles) into Russian territory.

UPDATE 1010 GMT:

The leader of the Wagner Group mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has used this morning’s drone attacks on Moscow for his feud with Russian political and military leaders.

Prigozhin posted on Telegram, “Why the fuck are you allowing these drones to fly to Moscow? Who gives a shit that they are flying to your homes on Rublyovka! Let your houses burn.”

Many of Russia’s elite have homes in the Rublyovka suburb. Vladimir Putin has an official residence nearby.

UPDATE 0831 GMT:

The Russian Defense Ministry says eight attacking drones were downed this morning, three by “electronic warfare means” and five by Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile-gun systems in the Moscow suburbs.

The Ministry did not report the total number of drones in the attack.

At least three residential buildings were struck by drones which got through defenses.

After the attack, Russian authorities began jamming satellite navigation signals, with drivers reporting GPS malfunctions.

UPDATE 0820 GMT:

The latest Russian shelling across the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has killed two civilans and injured 10.

The Russians attacked eight cities and towns, damaging 26 “civilian objects”.

UPDATE 0749 GMT:

The war monitor Oryx has documented Russia’s loss of more than 2,000 tanks in its invasion of Ukraine.

The tanks are among 10,469 Russian armored vehicles lost in 15 months.

Of the 2,002 tanks, 1,239 have been destroyed, 106 damaged, 113 abandoned, and 544 captured.

The monitor only includes armored vehicles for which there is visual confirmation.

The Ukraine military said this morning that the Russian invaders have lost 3,802 tanks, as well as 207,440 troops, 313 warplanes, 298 helicopters, and 18 warships.

UPDATE 0733 GMT:

The Ukraine Air Force says defenses downed 29 of 31 Russia’s Iranian-made attack drones overnight.

About 20 drones fired on Kyiv were all intercepted.

UPDATE 0713 GMT:

More videos of drone strikes on Moscow this morning….

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Several buildings in Russia’s capital Moscow have been damaged in drone strikes on Monday.

Meanwhile, in the 17th set of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in May, a woman has been killed by falling debris from downed missiles and drones.

Channels on Telegram claimed 4 to 10 drones were intercepted in Moscow, while Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said “several” were shot down. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the damage to the buildings was “minor” and there were no serious injuries: “All emergency services of the city are at the scene of incidents.”

Residents of a building on Profsoyuznaya Street in the south of the capital were evacuated.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the strikes. However, in early May, two drones were launched on the Kremlin, with debris from one of them setting a fire on the roof.

US intelligence and a Ukrainian official later acknowledged that Kyiv’s agencies were behind the operation.

Late Monday and early Tuesday, Russia — trying to stave off an impending Ukrainian counter-offensive — used 20 Iranian-made attack drones in its 17th attack and third in 24 hours on Kyiv.

For the 17th time, no significant target was hit. However, fire from debris set a fire in a residential building in the Holosiivskyi district, killing the 33-year-old woman.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said rescuers evacuated 20 people from the building. An elderly woman was sent to hospital, while two victims were treated on the spot.

In total, 13 people were injured in the Kyiv region, nine of them in the city.