KYIV, Ukraine -- A rare drone attack jolted Moscow early Tuesday, causing only light damage but forcing evacuations as residential buildings were struck in the Russian capital for the first time in the war against Ukraine. The Kremlin, meanwhile, pursued its relentless bombardment of Kyiv with a third assault on the city in 24 hours.
The Russian Defense Ministry said five drones were shot down in Moscow and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. President Vladimir Putin called it a "terrorist" act by Kyiv.
The attack, while causing only what Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said was "insignificant damage" to several buildings, brought the war home to civilians in Russia's capital. Two people received treatment for unspecified injuries but did not need hospitalization, Sobyanin said, adding that residents of two high-rise buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, said some of the drones were "shot down on the approach to Moscow."
Ukraine made no direct comment on the attack, which would be one of its deepest and most daring strikes into Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 15 months ago.
Putin said Moscow's air defense "worked in a satisfactory way," but added it was "clear what we need to do to plug the gaps" in the system.
"The Kyiv regime ... attempts to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and strikes at civilian buildings," he said during a public event. "It is, of course, a clear indication of terrorist activity."
Putin charged that Ukraine launched Tuesday's attack in response to Russia striking Ukraine's military intelligence headquarters in Kyiv over the weekend. But Andrii Cherniak, a Ukrainian intelligence representative, said the Kremlin's forces failed to hit the building because its missiles were shot down.
Asked by The Associated Press whether there was high-level concern that the invasion of Ukraine was endangering Russian civilians, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that attacks on Russia reinforced the need to prosecute what the Kremlin calls the "special military operation."
Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Endowment said the Kremlin's policy is to play down the attacks, reflecting Putin's belief voiced more than once that the Russian people were patient enough to "understand everything and endure everything."
Moscow residents reported hearing explosions before dawn. At one site of a crashed drone in southwest Moscow, police fenced off an area near a residential building and put the drone debris in a cardboard box before carrying it away.
At another site, apartment windows were shattered and there were scorch marks on the building's front.
It was the second reported strike on Moscow since May 3, when Russian authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin in what they portrayed as an attempt on Putin's life. Ukraine denied it was behind that attack.
Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a man was killed and two others were seriously wounded Tuesday by the Ukrainian shelling of a building hosting temporarily displaced residents of the region.
Officials in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar near annexed Crimea said two drones struck there on Friday, damaging residential buildings.
Other drones have reportedly flown deep into Russia multiple times.
Ukrainian military analysts, though unable to confirm Kyiv had launched the drones against Moscow, said the attack may have involved UJ-22 drones, which are produced in Ukraine and have a maximum range of about 620 miles.
Analyst Oleh Zhdanov said some UJ-22s are capable of reaching "Moscow and beyond," although he noted they can fly only half as far and carry half the payload of the Iranian-made Shahed drones used in the war by Russia.
Even so, Zhdanov told AP that "the myth has been dispelled" of the Russian capital's invulnerability.
UKRAINIAN DRONES IN USE
Since February, when a UJ-22 crashed 60 miles from Moscow, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly approached the Russian capital.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday the U.S. was still gathering information about the drone strike but reiterated that "as a general matter" the U.S. administration does not support Ukraine using American weaponry in Russian territory.
"We do not support the use of U.S.-made equipment being used for attacks inside of Russia," she said. "We've been very clear about that, and we'll continue to do that. And we have been clear not just publicly but privately clear with the Ukrainians."
She declined to comment on whether administration officials have spoken to Ukraine officials about the Moscow incident.
Jean-Pierre also noted that Russia on Tuesday launched its 17th round of airstrikes on the capital of Kyiv this month, noting that "Russia started this unprovoked aggression, this unprovoked war against Ukraine."
A U.S. defense official said the drone strikes would not not affect the weapons aid packages the U.S. is providing Ukraine to include drone ammunition. The official said the U.S. has committed to supporting Ukraine in its effort to defend the country and Ukraine had committed to not using the systems inside Russia, so the aid would likely continue unchanged.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday's pre-dawn air raid on Kyiv killed at least one person, wounded 11 others and sent residents scrambling into shelters again.
At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv in the latest attack. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of 31 drones, mostly in the Kyiv area, the air force said.
Before daylight, buzzing drones could be heard in the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.
The heavy destruction in Kyiv contrasted with what was seen in Moscow.
In the Ukrainian capital, burned-out cars, glass and debris littered the street outside a building where apartments were wrecked. Only a few broken windows and scorched outer walls were evident in Moscow, with repairs and repainting being done quickly to affected buildings.
A woman in Kyiv's Holosiiv district was killed when she went onto her balcony "to look at drones being shot down," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.
A high-rise in the same district caught fire after being hit by debris either from drones or interceptor missiles. The building's upper two floors were destroyed, and people were feared buried in the rubble, the Kyiv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
COMING AID PACKAGE
A U.S. military aid package for Ukraine that is expected to be announced this week will total up to $300 million and will include additional munitions for drones, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Ukraine has agreed not to use any American-provided weapons for attacks on Russian soil. But the new aid package comes at a tense moment in the war.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the latest aid package has not yet been publicly announced.
U.S. officials did not provide details on the drone munitions in the new aid package or specify which unmanned aircraft would use them. The Defense Department has given Ukraine a variety of unmanned aircraft over the last year, for both surveillance and attacks, including at least two versions of the Switchblade, a so-called kamikaze drone that can loiter in the air and then explode into a target.
Other more sophisticated drones can drop munitions, but the U.S. has been reluctant to publicly share details about those.
Also included in the newest package will be munitions for Patriot missile batteries and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System known as HIMARS, Stinger missiles for the Avenger system, mine-clearing equipment, anti-armor rounds, unguided Zuni aircraft rockets, night vision goggles, and about 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition, said the U.S. officials.
Including the latest aid, the U.S. has committed more than $37.6 billion in weapons and other equipment to Ukraine since Russia attacked on Feb. 24, 2022. This latest package will be done under presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons from its own stocks and quickly ship them to Ukraine, officials said.
Officials said the U.S. is expected to announce the aid as soon as today.
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
The U.N. nuclear chief stressed Tuesday that the world is fortunate a nuclear accident hasn't happened in Ukraine and asked Moscow and Kyiv to commit to preventing any attack on Europe's largest nuclear power plant and make other pledges "to avoid the danger of a catastrophic incident."
IAEA director general Rafael Grossi reiterated to the U.N. Security Council what he told the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors in March: "We are rolling a dice and if this continues then one day our luck will run out."
Grossi said avoiding a nuclear accident is possible if five principles are observed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where fighting on seven occasions, most recently last week, disrupted critical power supplies, "the last line of defense against a nuclear accident."
Grossi "respectfully and solemnly" asked Ukraine and Russia to observe the principles, saying IAEA experts at Zaporizhzhia will start monitoring and he will publicly report on any violations:
Ban attacks from or against the plant, especially targeting reactors and spent fuel storage areas.
Ban the storage of heavy weapons or presence of military personnel that could be used for an attack.
Ensure the security of an uninterrupted off-site power supply to the plant.
Protect "all structures, systems and components" essential to the plant's operation from attacks or acts of sabotage.
Take no action to undermine these principles.
Grossi asked the 15 Security Council members to support the five principles, stressing that they are "to no one's detriment and to everyone's benefit."
Neither the Russian nor Ukrainian ambassador gave a commitment to support the principles.
Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of continuing "to actively use the nuclear plant for military purposes." He said Russia has mined its perimeter and is responsible for shelling that has inflicted "serious damage" on parts of the plant, undermining its safety. He claimed 500 Russian military personnel are at the plant along with heavy weapons, munitions and explosives.
"The threat of dangerous accident as a result of these irresponsible and criminal actions hangs over us," he said.
Kyslytsya said Ukraine takes "note" of Grossi's five principles but urges him to add several more, starting with the withdrawal of all Russian personnel from the Zaporizhzhia plant, guarantees of uninterrupted power to the plant from Ukraine, and a humanitarian corridor to ensure that Ukrainian and IAEA personnel at the plant can be rotated safely.
Information for this article was contributed by Susie Blann, Joanna Kozlowska, Vasilisa Stepanenko, David Rising, Tara Copp, Yuras Karmanau, Lolita C. Baldor, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani and Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press.
Police officers help an injured man evacuate from a multi-story apartment building to an ambulance during a wave of bombardments targeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)
A police officer walks at the parking with damaged cars in front of a multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)
A woman clears broken glass from the window of multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)
Residents warm themselves under the blanket as they evacuated from their multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)
Evacuated residents hug outside of their multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)
Police block an area where investigators collect parts of a Ukrainian drone which reportedly damaged an apartment building in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack that he said caused "insignificant" damage. (AP Photo)
Police officers guard an area where a Ukrainian drone damaged an apartment building in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack that he said caused "insignificant" damage. (AP Photo)
This photo shows a part of a Ukrainian drone which reportedly damaged an apartment building in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack that he said caused "insignificant" damage. (AP Photo)
The photo shows a multi-story apartment building which was damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna)