UN condemns drone attacks on civilian facilities in Moscow

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General, commented on the July 30 drone attack against the "Moscow-City" business center in the Russian capital.

"Well, we don't have any first-hand information on who is responsible for this attack. But certainly, we are against any and all attacks on civilian facilities, and we want them to stop," Haq told a press conference.

According to Russian media, the offices of several Russian ministries were located in the building damaged in the strike. The same skyscraper was reportedly hit in another drone attack overnight on Aug. 1.

In a video message on July 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it's natural and fair that the war is returning to Russian territory.

"Ukraine is becoming stronger. The war is gradually returning to Russian territory – to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," said Zelensky.

Zaluzhnyi on Ukrainian strikes inside Russia: ‘It is up to us to decide how to kill this enemy’

In an interview with the Washington Post, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, defended his army’s right to strike Russian soil, adding that such attacks are carried out only with Ukraine-made weapons.

The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova

According to independent Russian media outlet Verstka, over the last three months, Moscow and the region were attacked by at least 28 drones, 12 of which caused damages.

Russia usually blames Ukraine for attacks on its soil, while Kyiv rarely takes responsibility for them.

Since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion, Russian troops have regularly struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, causing large-scale damages and claiming the lives of civilians.

According to the United Nations human rights agency, Russia's war against Ukraine has killed at least 9,369 civilians and wounded at least 16,646 from Feb. 24, 2022, to July 30, 2023.

The actual number of casualties is likely considerably higher since the information from places with ongoing hostilities is delayed. Also, many reports of civilian casualties still need to be verified.