Moscow and Kyiv both bombarded

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 30 May 2023 by Alex Teddy

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On May 27 and 28 there were air strikes, missile strikes and drone attacks on Kyiv. Ukraine said 40 drones attacked Kyiv and 14 attacked other cities. There have been 15 nights of aerial bombardment on Kyiv in May 2023. On May 28 Ukraine said there were no casualties in Kyiv. Even if Ukraine is lying it seems that casualties were at least very low. On May 29 Ukraine announced 5 civilian casualties from the previous night's attack. Why does Russia persist in using missiles worth several million USD each on cities when these attacks have minimal impact? It could be out of sheer frustration or lack of an alternative. Perhaps it is a warning as the US had granted permission for European countries to give US-made F 16 fighters to Ukraine. Russia warned that this would be escalatory. There was a Russian missile attack on an air base, and Ukraine said 5 aircraft had been rendered inoperable, at least temporarily.  On May 29-30 there were more attacks on Kyiv. Moscow was also attacked by drones. Russia sought to play down the significance of these attacks and said there were no casualties. But these are the first drone attacks on Moscow. This is worrying for Russia.