A Kamikaze drone was shot down “within earshot” of Putin’s palace today as the war inches closer to the Russian tyrant’s door. Moscow was blitzed by a swarm of drones in a rare attack on the Russian capital after Ukraine vowed to respond to a barrage of unprecedented missile attacks in recent days.
Dozens of kamikaze drones appeared to target wealthy suburbs of Moscow where Putin’s oligarch cronies have luxury retreats. Several were shot down over the plush district of Rublyovka and caused damage and injuries as the Ukraine war appeared to be coming to Putin’s own backyard.
And footage appeared to show one of the drones exploding in a huge mushroom cloud near Usovo village – close to Putin’s estate Novo-Ogaryovo.
According to Pravda, a drone was downed in the village of Razdory – just six miles from the Russian leader’s luxury palace. A local resident said it “would be in earshot of the explosion”.
Journalist Farida Rustamova said the drone was shot down just “a ten-minute drive” from the residence in Usovo. “This is part of Rublyovka where state-owned cottages and private houses of officials and businessmen are located,” she said. “Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence (in the village of Usovo) is a 10-minute drive away.”
A Pantsir-S1 air defence missile system was reportedly installed near Putin’s residence earlier this year amid fears of drone attacks from Ukraine. It’s not clear if Putin was at his estate when the drone attack hit.
Other drone strikes targeted Ilyinskoye, Timoshkino, Romashkovo and Greenfield, according to Alexander Khinstein, a lawmaker from Putin’s United Russia political faction. Elsewhere in the capital, video showed drones flying overhead before being shot down in plumes of black smoke.
Residents said they heard loud bangs followed by the smell of petrol. Blocks of flats and other tall buildings had windows blown out as locals scattered in panic as FSB intelligence investigators rushed to multiple sites.
Russian lawmaker Maxim Ivanov branded the barrage of drones as the worst attack on Moscow since World War Two. “You will either defeat the enemy as a single fist with our Motherland, or the indelible shame of cowardice, collaboration and betrayal will engulf your family,” he said.
