Ukraine has the legal right to use military force outside its territory for self-defense, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, commenting on the drone attack on Moscow.
“It (Kyiv. – TMT note) has the legal right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it also has the right to use military force outside its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to use military force in Ukraine”, – Cleverly said (quoted by Sky News).
Attacks on “legitimate military targets” outside Ukraine are part of Kyiv’s self-defense, the minister added. “We have to recognize that”, – he said. The minister said, however, that he would not speculate on the nature of the attack on Moscow.
The U.S., on the other hand, assessed the drone attack on Moscow differently. Washington does not support attacks inside Russia and is focused on helping Ukraine retake its territory, the White House said in a statement. “We have seen the news [of the drone attack on Moscow] and are still gathering information about what happened”, – the statement noted.
Later, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre reiterated during a briefing: “We do not support any attacks inside Russia. That’s it”. The U.S. is supplying Ukraine with all necessary equipment and weapons to liberate the territories seized by Russia, the spokeswoman added. In addition, she stressed that Russia had launched 17 strikes against Kyiv this month alone.
“Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia can end it at any moment. <…> They (the Russian military leadership. – note TMT) can withdraw their troops from Ukraine instead of launching these brutal air strikes against its cities and civilians every day”, – said Carine Jean-Pierre.
She also noted that Washington’s position on the transfer to Ukraine of ATACMS operational-tactical missiles with a range of over 300 km had not changed.
On the morning of May 30, Moscow was subjected to the largest air attack since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry reported eight drones, five of which it claimed were shot down and three more were suppressed by electronic warfare systems. According to Baza, the attack involved at least 25 drones, 10 of which were shot down in the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that two people sought medical help after the drones struck three residential buildings – on Atlasov Street in New Moscow, on Profoyuznaya Street in the Cheremushki district and at the intersection of Leninsky Prospekt and Udaltsov Street. On Leninsky Prospekt, the UAV flew into an apartment on the 14th floor, but did not explode.
