From ‘Kyiv in 3 days’ to attacks on Kremlin: blasts in Russia become frequent

Espreso has found out what else has exploded in Russia and in the occupied Crimea in recent days.

The Russian dictator's administration claimed that the drones were disabled. However, the video shows the aircraft flying right up to the Russian tricolor and exploding.

Kyiv has not confirmed its involvement in the explosions over the Kremlin. The press service of the Ukrainian president does not know anything about the nighttime arrival of a drone over Moscow. Instead, they believe that it is nothing more than an attempt to escalate the situation before May 9, presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov told the BBC.

“What happened in Moscow is obviously an escalation of the situation before May 9, an expected trick from our adversary.”

Russian statements about shelling of settlements on the Russian-Ukrainian border are nothing new; they began even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This is a kind of 'casus belli' - a pretext for one state to wage war against another, as well as to escalate the situation or justify its own aggressive actions. Such reports are often recognized as unreliable.

Fireworks over the Kremlin

May became a significant day when flames burned over the Kremlin itself. At night, two unmanned aerial vehicles attacked the main building of the Russians. 

“Two unmanned aerial vehicles were targeting the Kremlin. Thanks to the timely actions taken by the military and special services using radar systems, the drones were disabled,” the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

Residents of Moscow wrote on social media that they heard explosions, saw sparks in the sky, and people walking with flashlights near the Kremlin wall. After the incident, the mayor of Moscow said that starting May 3, the city would ban the launch of aircraft.

screenshot from the video

Russia is seriously scared. Former President Dmitry Medvedev, who now holds a minor position in the Russian Security Council, even suggested assassinating the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“After today's terrorist attack, there are no options left but to physically eliminate Zelenskyy and his clique. He is not even needed to sign an act of unconditional surrender,” he said.

During a visit to Finland, Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself denied Ukraine's involvement in the drone explosion over the Kremlin.

“We are not attacking Putin or Moscow - we are defending our villages and cities. We don't have enough weapons even for that, which is why we don't use them elsewhere. That is why we did not attack Putin. We will leave it to the tribunal,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader emphasized that instead of inventing information manipulations, Russia should withdraw its troops from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also spoke about the explosion over the Kremlin. The institute suggested that Russia could have organized the UAV strike itself, trying to convey the importance of waging war against Ukraine to the Russian domestic audience, as well as to create conditions for broader social mobilization.

What else has exploded in Russia recently

Other regions of the Russian Federation were also restless. On May 4, the night turned out to be anxious in the Kuban. A fire broke out in a tank at the Ilyinsky Oil Refinery, which is located 50 kilometers from Putin's residence in Gelendzhik. Forty-eight firefighters and 16 pieces of equipment were employed. Also that night, drones attacked an oil refinery in the Rostov region of Russia, located in the village of Kiselivka.

screenshot from the video

Other regions of the Russian Federation were also experiencing turbulence. On May 3, an oil depot in the village of Volna, Krasnodar region, was on fire. The fire was assigned the highest rank of complexity. Also, a tank with oil products was on fire in the port of Taman, Krasnodar region. The area of the fire was 1,200 square meters. According to media reports, this is one of the places where the Black Sea fleet refueled.

In addition, explosions often occur on the railroad. A day earlier, on May 2, a locomotive and 20 cars of a freight train derailed in the Bryansk region due to a railroad blast. The incident occurred on the Snizhetskaya-Belye Berega stretch in the Bryansk region. Traffic on the section was suspended. The Russians claimed that an unidentified explosive device had detonated.

On May 1, a train with 60 cars loaded with oil products and construction materials derailed on the Rasukha-Unecha stretch. The accident was caused by the detonation of explosives and a fire broke out.

Russian military facilities in Crimea as targets for testing Ukrainian weapons

Regular explosions also occur in the temporarily occupied Crimea. On April 29, a fire broke out at an oil depot in Sevastopol. It was caused by a possible drone strike. Earlier, on April 8, a loud explosion similar to an artillery shot was also heard. Since August 2022, loud explosions have been heard regularly in Crimea. The occupying forces claim that they are shooting at Ukrainian drones.

fire at the oil depot in Sevastopol, a screenshot from the video

Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilov didn't rule out that some explosions in the annexed Crimea could be related to Ukraine's testing of new weapons.

Every day, and more and more, a high degree of anxiety is felt in Crimea. Military personnel and their families are trying to evacuate en masse.

As reported by the Ukrainian troops, this is one of the elements of preparation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive. While at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russians were convinced that they had the 'second army in the world,' they feel a real threat now. 

We can also fly to the Urals

Military experts assume that there will be even more such actions in Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea. A fleet of drones with a flight range of more than 3,000 kilometers is emerging in Ukraine, said Roman Svitan, a reserve colonel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a military expert. He added that our drones are already operating on the territory of Russia.

“Recently, we have seen the work of Ukroboronprom and volunteers who collect donations. Long-range weapons have been purchased. And this suggests that we are really getting a large fleet of drones with a flight range of more than 3,000 km, depending on tactical and technical data,” Svitan said.

These drones can reach the Kola Peninsula and almost the Urals.

“Perhaps, so far, with small means of defeat, but with properly executed strikes. For example, as it was done recently in the area of occupied Sevastopol. Our drones have already operated on the territory of the Russian Federation. We see a lot of explosions on the territory of Russia, and those military facilities can only be reached from the air,” he explained.

photo: gettyimages

The Ukrainian side refused to confirm or deny involvement in the incidents. Our National Security and Defense Council has repeatedly stated that they do not know “who is doing this.” Oleksii Danilov explained that “if they think that they will be in some kind of peace and we will be kept in tension, they are deeply mistaken. Believe me, both Moscow and St. Petersburg have not put all these pieces of iron (air defense systems - ed.) on their roofs for nothing. This will definitely not help them,” Danilov emphasized.