The Russian defence ministry blamed Kyiv for the attacks on Moscow and the surrounding region, which left two people lightly injured and what it said was “minor” damage to buildings.

Two residential buildings that were hit are located in the affluent south-western part of the Russian capital and near the city centre. One of them is close to a popular park.

Two drones were intercepted over the Kremlin earlier this month but this was the first time that unmanned aerial vehicles hit residential areas of Moscow, which is located hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine.

The raids will be seen as a psychological blow and a major embarrassment for the Kremlin which has gone to great lengths to say the protracted conflict does not pose a threat to Russians.

Rescuers evacuate a local resident woman from a multi-storey residential building, partially destroyed after night drone attacks in Kyiv on May 30, 2023. – Ukraine on Tuesday said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage — the third on the capital in 24 hours. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

The Russian defence ministry said that eight drones were used in the attack.

The ministry said in a statement on social media that “all the enemy drones” were either downed or disabled.

Moscow and regional authorities confirmed the attack.

Sobyanin said two people had sought medical assistance after the raid but “no one has suffered serious injuries.”

Explosions

Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said several drones had also been downed near the capital.

“This morning, the residents of certain districts in the Moscow region could hear explosions, it was our anti-air missile defence system,” he wrote.

“Several drones were shot down while approaching Moscow,” he added, urging residents to keep calm and adding that “all rescue services are doing their work”.

Since the start of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, drone attacks have hit targets outside Moscow, including military installations located far from the front.

A local resident carries his dog from a multi-storey residential building, partially destroyed after night drones attack in Kyiv on May 30, 2023. – Ukraine on Tuesday said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage — the third on the capital in 24 hours. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Sobyanin said the residents of two buildings damaged in Tuesday’s strikes had been evacuated and added that they “can return to their apartments once the special services have finished their work”.

Residents told Russian journalists that a drone had entered an apartment on the 14th floor but did not explode.

“There was no blast. The police came and knocked on the door and asked all people to leave,” a resident told state news agency RIA Novosti.

Local residents leave a multi-storey residential building, partially destroyed after night drone attacks in Kyiv on May 30, 2023. – Ukraine on May 30, 2023 said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage — the third on the capital in 24 hours. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Also on Tuesday, Ukraine said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage — the third on the capital in 24 hours.

On Monday, Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv, sending panicked residents running for shelter in an unusual daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital following overnight strikes.

The latest barrages landed as the Ukrainian capital was still recovering from an overnight Saturday drone attack, the biggest since Russia began its campaign in Ukraine in February last year.

Kyiv received its first shipments of the American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system in April, and US President Joe Biden on Monday suggested more aid was to come.

Asked about Russia’s fierce attacks on Kyiv, Biden told reporters, “It’s not unexpected,” adding: “That’s why we’ve got to continue to give Ukraine all that it needs.”

Kyiv has been preparing an offensive, although its timing and focus have been the subject of months of speculation.

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“Today in Rome,” tweeted Zelensky, following his arrival at the military base of Rome’s Ciampino Airport shortly before 0830 GMT, where he was met by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

“I’m meeting with President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and the Pope. An important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine!”

Television images showed a long cortege of vehicles carrying the Ukrainian leader departing the airport, as security forces locked down large areas of the capital.

As Zelensky arrived in Rome, Germany announced a 2.7 billion euro weapons package for Kyiv including tanks, armoured vehicles and air-defence systems.

Despite a history of warm ties with Moscow, NATO and EU member Italy has sent weapons and money to help Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022, and backed Western sanctions against Russia.

Still, the issue of sending weapons to Kyiv remains politically sensitive in Italy and the government has never disclosed exactly what it has provided.

Meloni, who visited Kyiv in February, hosted Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Rome last month, on the occasion of a conference on how Italian businesses could help rebuild the war-torn country.

It was not clear how long Zelensky would be in Rome, with speculation he could also be planning a trip to Germany this weekend.

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“We generally sense that the Russian military movement… the overarching movement on Kyiv, is stalled at this point,” the official told reporters.

“We do think that some of it has to do with their own sustainment and logistics,” the official said.

“And we also think that just in general… the Russians themselves are regrouping and rethinking and trying to adjust to the challenges that they’ve had.”

Six days after Moscow invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor, the official said a massive Russian convoy north of Kyiv is barely moving, but that the US believes they still intend to surround and capture the Ukraine capital, by siege tactics if necessary.

The US official said the Ukraine military continues to challenge the invasion force, and that the Russians have not gained control of the skies above the country.

Nor have the Russians succeeded in taking their first major target, the Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv in the northeast, where the heaviest fighting has taken place.

But in the south, the Russians have connected their forces along the coast from Crimea to the Russian border in the east, and have surrounded the city of Mariupol.

The Pentagon believes that the advance of the 150,000-strong combat force Russia has committed to invading Ukraine — around 80 percent of which has so far entered the country — has moved much more slowly than planned, and now faces supply shortages.

“In many cases, what we’re seeing are columns that are literally out of gas,” the defense official said. “Now they’re starting to run out of food for their troops.”

The official also said, but offered no evidence, that there were signs of morale problems in the Russian force, which makes use of a large number of conscript soldiers.

“Not all of them were apparently fully trained and prepared, or even aware that they were going to be sent into a combat operation,” the official said.

“We have picked up independently on our own indications that  morale is flagging in some of these units,” the official said.

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