US, UK officials have conflicting reactions to drone attack on Moscow

U.S. and U.K. officials have had conflicting reactions to the May 30 drone attack on Moscow, prompting yet another debate as to whether Ukraine has the right to launch strikes on Russian territory.  

Several drones targeted high-rise buildings in Moscow overnight on May 30.

Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, denied Kyiv's involvement in the attack. However, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of orchestrating it, claiming on May 30 that Russia would respond with "mirror actions."

U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said during a press conference that Ukraine has "the legitimate right to (defend itself) within its own borders, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia's ability to project force into Ukraine."

U.S. officials offered a different response.

"As a general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia," a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said, according to CNN.

"We have been focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory, and that’s exactly what we’ve done," the spokesperson added.  

Numerous isolated attacks have taken place within Russian territory since the start of the full-scale invasion.

These attacks appear to primarily focus on disrupting the infrastructure that supports the logistics of the Russian military. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for most of these attacks.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 5 – Everything we know about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia

“This Week in Ukraine” is a video podcast hosted by Kyiv Independent’s reporter Anastasiia Lapatina. Every week, Anastasiia sits down with her newsroom colleagues to discuss Ukraine’s most pressing issues. Episode #5 is dedicated to Ukrainian attacks deep behind enemy lines – on Russian soil, and i…

The Kyiv IndependentAnastasiia Lapatina