Russian response to Ukraine attack on Moscow

 ISW:

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to downplay the drone attack on Moscow to avoid exposing the limited options he has to retaliate against Ukraine. Putin claimed that Russian forces struck the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters “two [to] three days ago” and claimed that the Russian Armed Forces continue to respond to Ukraine’s “war against Donbas” by striking Ukrainian military infrastructure.[13] Putin insinuated that the drone strike on Moscow was Kyiv’s response to Russian strikes, and the Russian MoD conveniently claimed on May 30 that Russian forces carried out “a group of strikes with long-range high-precision air-launched weapons at main decision-making centers” in Ukraine.[14] The Russian MoD did not claim that it had struck the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters recently and there is no available confirmation of Putin’s claim.[15] Putin stated that Ukraine is trying to provoke a response and make Russia “mirror” its actions. Putin’s emphasis on past and ongoing missile strikes is likely an attempt to signal that Russia is already actively retaliating and does not need to respond to further Ukrainian provocations. Putin has consistently retaliated against genuine and purported Ukrainian actions by ordering massive missile and drone campaigns, likely due to Russian forces’ inability to achieve any decisive effects on the battlefield.[16]

Putin additionally pushed numerous Kremlin boilerplate narratives aimed at maintaining domestic support for the Russian war effort and villainizing the West. Putin also noted that, while the Moscow air defense systems “worked normally,” Russia still needs to “work” on improving these systems – a notable attempt to preempt criticism from Russian ultra-nationalists who have been criticizing Russia’s ineffective air defense systems in Moscow and along the Russian border regions with Ukraine.[17] Putin also accused Ukraine of threatening to destabilize the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and using “dirty devices” – both default Russian false narratives that the Kremlin uses during Russian military failures.[18]

The drone attack on Moscow generated varied responses from the Russian information space. Moscow Duma Deputy Andrey Medvedev claimed that the Ukrainian forces hurriedly executed the drone attack as part of an information operation with negligible kinetic effects.[19] Some Russian milbloggers used the drone attacks to criticize the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts in April 2022.[20] Igor Girkin used the strikes against Rublyovka to criticize Russian elites who he claimed have “never thought about the country and never will” and will not respond to Ukrainian attacks in Moscow, Belgorod Oblast, or Russian-occupied Ukraine.[21] Girkin also mocked Putin for continuing to assert that the war is a “special military operation,” despite drone attacks on the Russian capital.[22] Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin reprimanded the Russian MoD and called on Russian officials to actually defend Russia instead of “sitting quietly.”[23] Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov threatened the European countries, claiming that, if they continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, they will not have the weapons needed to defend themselves when Russia “knocks on their doors.”[24]
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The drone attacks of both sides do not appear to have had any strategic impact on the war.  They appear aimed at information operations sending the message that both sides are vulnerable.  Both sides are having to expend their defensive resources to deal with the drones, but neither appears to be running out of ammo to deal with them.

See, also:

 Air Force says Russian ballistic missile ‘surprise attack’ on Kyiv misjudged Ukrainian air defenses

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"They wanted to take our air defense by surprise after the nighttime attacks, which were carried out with drones and Kh-101 cruise missiles," Ihnat said.

“They decided to strike at noon in such an unusual way, thinking that the air defense system was reloading somewhere. No, we’re ready, we’re on combat duty 24/7. We’re always ready, that's why we got such a result. The air defense system worked perfectly yesterday, both at night and at noon.”
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And:

 13 locations on map, pinpointing where drones hit in Moscow

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"The main target areas were the western suburbs of Moscow and the south-west of Moscow. Drones were spotted particularly on the Rublyovka and Ilinskoye highways, where the houses of the elite and state residences are located."

Details: It is reported that "several drones fell" in the Krasnogorsk district in the village of Ilinskoye and the village of Timoshkino.
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There is a map included in the link that has not been translated into English.

And:

 Russians were attacking on three fronts, but made no progress

And:

 Surprise mass drone strike spells trouble in the air for Vladimir Putin

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Kyiv has used a number of similar drones to strike targets inside Russia for nearly a year.

Previous strikes had been smaller in scale, with small numbers or sometimes even single aircraft hitting strategic or economic targets. They have included the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, in Rostov, in June 2022, or the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, in July 2022.

More recently, the same type of drone apparently deployed in the attack on Moscow - a Ukrjet UJ-22 - was reportedly used in an attempt to target a Gazprom gas compression station in the outskirts of the city, just over 50 miles from the Kremlin.

What is different about Tuesday’s attack is its sheer scale. More than a dozen drones were reportedly used, revealing a more mature capability than many believed Kyiv possessed.
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And:

 After finding Chinese chips in Russian weapons, Ukraine confronted Beijing’s envoy

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Exports of Chinese semiconductors to Russia, including from Hong Kong, have more than doubled since Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. And Ukraine’s military has concluded that at least 15% of the electronics found in Russian arms — including cruise missiles, helicopters, and Iranian-supplied drones — are from China and Hong Kong.

“Ukraine made its point about the importance of China not to allow Chinese components channeling down to Russia,” Vlasiuk told Semafor about the discussions with Li Hui. He added that it was “just the beginning of the dialogue” with Beijing.
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And:

 Russia Hits a Dead End in Bakhmut

And:

 SOF fighters successfully ambush Russian troops on Dnipro river

And:

 Zelenskyy: Putin wants to revive Soviet Union, and after Ukraine he will "devour" Belarus

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Quote from Zelenskyy: "The restoration of the Soviet Union. This is his [Putin’s – ed.] life goal. This cannot be achieved diplomatically, so he tried all kinds of blackmail, using energy as a weapon, etc. Mostly unsuccessfully. Then he decided to become an outright aggressor. He killed and tortured thousands of civilians, seized a nuclear power plant and threatened a nuclear catastrophe...

He [Putin – ed.] has been avoiding even a telephone conversation with me for almost two years. There is only one reason. He has nothing to say. The truth is on our side, and he has nothing to say in the face of the truth.

Putin wants nothing else than to seize Ukraine by force, to destroy Ukrainian identity, and to destroy Ukrainianness through war. Putin's next target is Belarus. [Russia] is metallurgically devouring Belarus. It is obvious that today's Putin is a completely different person than the one we saw before. It would be difficult to talk to Putin before he withdraws all his troops from the territory of Ukraine."
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And:

 Russia has lost two-thirds of its tanks since it invaded Ukraine as its military struggles with obsolete Soviet-era weapons, analyst says

And:

 UK endorses Ukraine's right to attack Russian territory despite US anxiety