Putin warns of 'retaliatory strike' over Ukraine drone attack

Putin: “We will strike in retaliation so that no one dares to harm us.”

(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = Immediately after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a major offensive, saying, “Russian airspace will be closed,” hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were launched toward Moscow, the Russian capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced in a statement on the 3rd (local time) that 548 drones flew toward the Moscow region for a total of 28 hours from 8 a.m. the previous day to noon the day before.

Most of the drones were shot down in the outskirts, but Flight 143 is said to have been shot down on its way into Moscow.

On this day, airports across Russia, including Vnokovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, Yaroslavl, Sheremetyevo, Sochi, Kaluga, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Sheremetyevo, and Zelenzhik, temporarily suspended operations and delayed takeoffs and landings, which appears to be the effect of the Ukrainian airstrike.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported that the Ukrainian military's latest airstrike targeting Moscow was one of the largest recorded over the past two years. It was reported that 600 aircraft were mobilized on August 15-16, and 430 aircraft were mobilized on July 6-7.

This happened right after Ukraine announced that it would strengthen its drone offensive against Russia. President Zelensky said on the 1st, "We must consider that drones will appear in large numbers in the skies of Russia," and "I warn all airlines using Russian airspace, all insurance companies and people using major Russian airports." On the 2nd, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said, “We have notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that Russian airspace is unsafe for commercial flights due to increased military activities.”

The Russian Aviation Administration claimed on the 2nd that "Russia's air transport and ground infrastructure is operating as planned, and flights from all airlines, including foreign ones, are coming and going."

On this day, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) general meeting held in Vladivostok about ways to respond to intensive airstrikes against Russian oil refineries and logistics warehouses, and said, "The answer while the special military operation is in progress is to strengthen the air defense system first."

He replied, “The second is to strike in retaliation so that they don’t even dare to harm us.”

However, regarding the stalled peace negotiations, President Putin left room, saying, "I am grateful to everyone who is trying to contribute to the resolution of this problem. Is there a possibility? I think it is."

President Putin said, "Keeping in mind the recent remarks we have heard from top Ukrainian figures, it is difficult to say now whether this will lead to peace negotiations," but added, "Contacts (between the two countries) are real and are still continuing, mainly through special agency channels."